The Tensions and The Passions
by Wedjatqi
Summary: Still dealing with the repercussions of their brief vision of their possible future together, John and Teyla find themselves thrown together alone in Hawaii. This is a sequel to my other fic 'A Different Future'. M. Complete.
1. The Mission

**Comments:** This fic was written for the Beya livejournal 'Spring Fling' challenge, in which artists produced artwork which then writers claimed to use as inspiration for a fic. I was lucky enough to pick a manipulated piece of artwork by Kariesue, which included John and Teyla on a Hawaiian beach setting. I was totally inspired by her great piece of artwork (please visit the Beya site to see it), which provoked wonderful warm Hawaiian ideas for this fic, and tied in as a sequel to my previous fic 'A Different Future' (please try and read that first if you can, it's a short fic I promise), this fic just came alive. My thanks to all those at Beya who came up with and ran the challenge, but particularly to Kariesue for the inspiration, you were my Muse for this fic Hun, along with the sweet early music of Peter Green, Otis Spann, and Lana Del Rey.

This fic is complete so I'll post it all over the long weekend.

**Warnings: **Set post season 5 - Atlantis on Earth. This is a fic thick with angst, and I had so much fun with it. Please also note that this really is an M rated fic.  
**Disclaimer:** The people and the resort mentioned in this story are entirely fictitious. I have never been to Hawaii (though hope to go one day!) so any mistakes are entirely due to my lack of knowledge. I own nothing of Stargate and make no money from this so on and so forth.

0000

**CHAPTER ONE – THE MISSION**

It had been an uncomfortable week.

The opportunity to see several minutes of her future had fascinated Teyla and she had been eager to volunteer for the experiment. She had hoped she might learn something of her future that would give her comfort being away from her people, perhaps learn that they were safe, and that Torren would continue to grow strong. Second to that, she had hoped to see something as useful as Rodney had learnt in his first unauthorised experiment with the device constructed by the Ancestor Janus. Perhaps she would see a vital moment in a battle, or learn of future politics and knowledge that might aid Atlantis.

She had not expected to glimpse a purely personal and intimate moment as she had.

A moment that had affected her more than she would ever have anticipated. Had she been told she would experience a gentle moment shared with a future lover, comfortably half asleep in his embrace, with teasing whispered words exchanged, she would have smiled and said it would have been enjoyable, but not all that useful for Atlantis. However, in actually experiencing such a vision, she had felt entirely different to that prediction. It had rocked something deep inside her, and seemed to have shattered her formally easy friendship with John – her future lover if her future vision was to be believed.

If she had seen that future alone, she might not have so affected by what she saw. In seeing it alone and privately, it might have simply given her a sense of joy and relief to think that John might feel attracted to her beyond friendship in a possible future. She would have allowed herself to bask silently in pleasure at the recalled ease and affection she had felt in her future self towards and from John. She could have embraced the experience with no more than warm feelings and slight amusement at what could have been, whether it was in truth a dream, a fantasy, or perhaps another reality that might never come to pass.

However, the vision had been shared, as John's startled and brief eye contact after the experiment had confirmed, and after which there had remained considerable discomfort and awkwardness between them.

It had taken them several days to make direct eye contact again and to share more than monosyllabic words. She had attempted to make small talk with John, in an attempt to ease things, but she had found herself strangely awkward in turn, for his reaction had sparked too many questions in her mind.

Why was he so uncomfortable? Was it because he had not liked what he had seen and experienced? Perhaps he could not understand how his future self could end up sharing a bed with her. Or could it be that he had never looked upon her that way before and now found the concept shocking, or perhaps he might even fear it coming to pass.

Such thoughts had been turning in her mind all week, plaguing her with doubts and a lack of self-confidence that she had not experienced before.

Had she been mistaken in sensing the mutual flirtation between over the years? Had she revealed too much of her affection in that future vision, which he now found uncomfortable? Or could it be that he currently had a lover in the city? He was very withdrawn about his personal life with others. She had never seen him courting a woman, though had heard through Rodney, several years ago, that he had been seeing a woman in the research department, but that had been short lived. She had made sure not to feel anything over such gossip. John had never indicated that he wished there to be more in their friendship and as such she had attempted to set aside such emotionally wayward thoughts linked to their friendship.

At least until the fateful day when Kate Heightmeyer had been killed. Losing a friend was always a painful thing, but on that occasion, it had been made considerably worse by the fact that the killer had been a creature disguising itself as John in their dreams. Teyla had known John would blame himself for that fact even though it had not been his fault, and that thought, mixed with her own deep grief, had led her to seek him out in his quarters. Only, she had not managed to trigger the chimes to call him, instead she had told outside his closed doors, deeply emotional, and debating whether she really could expression her feelings to him – to offer her support for his pain and to reveal her own need for comfort. The decision had been made for her though, for he had appeared through the doors, and had even stated that he had been on his way to find her anyway. For the first time with him, she had let her emotional guard down and had acted on instinct, born of compassion and her own desperate need to be comforted by him. She had stepped forward and embraced him. He had not stepped away or broken the embrace quickly, but she had felt the awkward tension in him, and in that moment she had faced more than grief and sympathy. She had felt his discomfort at their physical embrace so clearly, and it had broken her heart anew. If ever a moment had presented itself for the connection between them to be acknowledged, even in the smallest of ways, it would have been then. However, he had shown nothing but uneasiness with her touch, so she had pulled back from him, tearing herself away from what she had imagined and wished for so strongly. He had remained close to her afterward, his hand touching her arm and offering her a worried smile and a self-deprecating joke that had revealed the depth of his self blame, but it had not been enough.

They were to remain friends and no more, and she had accepted it for real that day.

On the following day, Kanaan had embraced her instead, having seen the depth of her pain and grief. Their people were accustomed to understanding the depth of grief shared in surviving and struggling against the Wraith, and for a very brief time, they had found solace together in that. It had been a night of shared understanding, gentle mutual attraction of long held friendship, and unknowingly at the time it had changed her life forever. Torren had been conceived on that night which had also turned out to be the last time she had seen her people for nine months. Fortunately, Kanaan and many others had eventually been freed from Michael, allowing their people to continue on, and for Torren to have a father.

She and Kanaan had spoken at length following Torren's birth over their own future, but a short number of weeks living together had confirmed what she had suspected, that they were not the people of their past anymore. They were parents together, but not to be lovers and partners for life. She was contented with that decision, though felt somewhat guilty at times that in being close to his son, Kanaan had surrendered much of his time with their people. To the point where he too was now separated from them, perhaps permanently, on Earth with her. He had assured her previously that were such a choice to be made that he would stay with his son, and unfortunately that decision had occurred. He had remained with her on Atlantis during its voyage to Earth, where they were now to remain for the foreseeable future. A handful of other Athosians had been working permanently in Atlantis, training in the Infirmary or other labs, had also chosen to remain in the city. They were single remaining members of their families, all the others lost to Michael and other Wraith, and they felt that their futures were linked, as hers was, with those from Earth on Atlantis. In many ways, it made her feel less alone now to know that others of her people had made the same choice as her, though Kanaan's had been solely focused on their son.

So much had changed over the last few years, and somewhere in all those changes, Teyla realised she had set aside her own plans for the future outside of her son and her people - until last week. In her future vision, she had not seen the future purpose and knowledge of her people she had sought, but instead had seen a part of herself that she had not experienced for some considerable time. The part of her that simply wished to lie in another's arms, to feel love and be loved.

"Teyla?" Carson's voice cut into her thoughts, snapping her back to the present. She looked up from her small container of brightly coloured clear pudding and smiled at Carson across the Mess Hall table.

"I am sorry?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" Carson asked and Teyla became aware that the rest of the table appeared interested in her answer. Except for John sat next to her, his elbow further away from hers than usual, and his attention focused down on his own meal with apparent disinterest.

"Yes," she replied quickly. "I am sorry. Torren did not sleep well last night," she supplied as an excuse.

"He's over his cold isn't he?" Carson asked with some concern as the rest of the table continued on with their own conversations.

"Yes, but I think that perhaps he has gotten too used to not sleeping as much," she replied, which was true enough, but her sleep had not been disturbed so much by her son this week as by her own worrying overly analytical thoughts.

"He'll settle again," Carson assured her with a smile.

"Yes, I am sure he will," she replied automatically before she returned her gaze to her pudding. She had barely eaten any of it. She pushed the tray of food aside and reached for her cooling cup of tea instead.

She attempted to focus on the conversation around the table, but found, as usual this week, that most of her attention was focused on John. She tried not to watch him out of the corner of her eye, but she inevitably did. He made usual joking conversation with everyone, but it was with a somewhat forced edge in her opinion, as if he was trying very hard to appear normal. He barely looked at her for more than a few seconds at a time though.

"I'd better be getting back to the paperwork," John announced, making her aware that her mind had wandered again. Rodney was getting up from the table and John was following, piling everything up on his tray. He smiled around the table as he did, his gaze meeting hers only for a moment. In that brief meeting of eye contact, she saw the now usual reluctance, perhaps embarrassment, and a small tight smile. He was making an effort not to appear uncomfortable.

They had not discussed, even for a moment, what they had both experienced, and she knew that she was going to have to initiate the conversation. Perhaps that was why he continued to look nervous and embarrassed around her, because he was anticipating the discussion. It was very much like him to react this way, and despite the fact that he could take it upon himself to talk first, he would not. It was not in his nature to take the lead with personal issues, he preferred the less direct approach. Which made her wonder why she had not yet broached the subject matter herself.

Only she knew why, because she suspected she knew how the conversation would go. He would be uncomfortable and she would reassure him that all was well between them and that they should just move forward. He would be relieved and likely apologise for being awkward around her, and then they would both agree to make an effort for their friendship. It was a conversation she realised they had had several times already over the years – the first time being when he had impulsively kissed her when infected with the Iratus retrovirus, then when he had been so angry with her for concealing her pregnancy, and finally when they had argued about her joining the team again after Torren's birth.

She really did not want to have the same discussion again because…it would be like that embrace outside his quarters. It would be another moment where they would step close to something emotional in their friendship and then step quickly away. Their friendship was stronger for those shared difficulties, but she knew that this time, perhaps it would be the last of chances. In stepping away from this, it would be the last nail driving closed what would never be.

She took a breath and stood up, lifting her tray and smiling to those remaining at the table. She would talk with him now, it had gone on too long for both of them and she hated to feel the distance and discomfort between them any longer. If her future vision had revealed nothing more, it had told her that the ties between her and John were strong and real, even if they were to be based only on friendship and nothing more.

She caught up with him on the stairs. "Colonel Sheppard?" She called to him as she hurried up the steps after him. He glanced back at her and she saw his reticence clearly. "Do you have a moment to talk?" She asked, keeping her tone that of work in front of the few other people moving up and down the stairs around them.

"Sure," he replied with a strained smile, his expression telling her that he too was both relieved and painfully anxious about this conversation. "My office alright?" He added. The room was on the level below the Gate room and private enough, but not too much so for him.

"Of course," she replied with a smile of her own, though it felt somewhat fake across her cheeks.

They walked in silence down the corridor to where his office door slid open for him as they approached. He had rarely used this room before Atlantis had settled on Earth, but now had to spend far more time here. The desk inside was free of clutter, except for his laptop, a pile of hand scribbled notes to himself, a framed photo of their team stood together with Torren, and a mug of likely very cold coffee. John spied the cold coffee mug and moved it aside with disgust before he perched himself on the edge of his desk, arms crossed, facing her with his lips pressed together with what she guessed was supposed to be an encouraging invitation for her to start. The door slid shut behind her, sealing them in together and she suddenly felt more anxious herself.

Seeking even a moment's distraction as she gathered her thoughts, she reached out to touch the bright green leaves of the tall plant stood to the side of the room. It had been a gift to him from Colonel Carter, but Teyla had not understood the significance of the way John had reacted to the gift. John was not one for plants in his room, despite many being available in the botany department for those in the city.

She took a breath and forced herself to begin, since it was clear that John was struggling at what he should say. His pained expression was almost amusing, echoing hers and suddenly emphasising the absurdity of the situation. That fact made her turn her opening words into a bemused smile of her own.

It seemed to help though, because John's shoulders lowered slightly and he smiled somewhat. His smile helped her to speak finally, and she went straight to the heart of the matter, knowing that John would appreciate it.

"John, I would hate for six minutes of what was, most likely, an alternate reality's future experienced through an ancient and unknowable piece of Ancestor technology to permanently damage our friendship," she said, only pausing a few times to make sure she said it as precisely as possible.

He glanced away and down, but she could already see relief in his expression and the formally tense straight line of his shoulders had relaxed further.

"Our friendship is too important to me," she added.

He smiled at that, be it still somewhat stilted, but he held her eye contact for the longest time all week. "It is to me too," he replied and she smiled with relief of her own.

"I suggest that we put what was most likely not even the future," she said, verbally stumbling slightly, but she strove on, "and set it aside."

"It was probably another reality anyway," he replied seeming very eager to agree with her assessment that what they had seen was not their future.

"Exactly," she agreed, as she worked not to let the strange pulling disappointment in her chest show in her expression.

"Like the one Rod came from," he added as if it added more weight to their theory.

In seeing his relief at this answer, she kept agreeing, for his sake, and for the sake of their friendship. "Or one of the realities the Daedalus jumped into," she considered.

"Exactly," John agreed, his arms uncrossed now. "Rodney says there's supposed to be an infinite number of other realities." She nodded. "It would make sense that in one of them, maybe you and me would…" he ran out of words having realised that he had walked right back into the heart of the matter and now would have to find words to describe it.

"Yes," she said quickly saving him from having to finish the description that was undoubtedly replaying in his memory as it was hers. "And, I think that in knowing that there is a reality out there where we have…such great affection for one another, can only prove how strong our friendship can remain."

She was pleased with that argument, and she believed it. There was something positive to be taken out of any experience and that would be what the vision could give them. She made sure that conviction was clear in her expression as she looked up at him.

"Sure," he replied, looking slightly surprised, as he tensely smiled again. "Great." He nodded, seeming slightly awkward once more.

She smiled at him with more feeling and he held her gaze for a moment longer, likely to prove that he could again. She appreciated the effort. Silence returned, but then she guessed that things would remain slightly uneasy for a little while, but like each time before when they had had to reaffirm their friendship, things would return to normal between them again.

She tried not to feel sad and disappointed about that, and so sought for something else to say to him to stride out on the more normal relationship again.

"Why did Colonel Carter give you a plant as a gift for your office?" She asked latching on to the one question that came immediately to her.

"It's a joke, kind of," he replied, jumping at the chance for a change of subject. "It's her way of telling me I'm going to have to spend more time at my desk."

Teyla believed she understood. "By decorating your office space."

"Yeah," he replied now more relaxed. He pushed up from the edge of the desk and moved around behind it instead. "It's what all desk jockeys have – a plant on your desk."

Teyla smiled at the large potted plant. "This would not fit on your desk," she noted, suspected she understood Colonel Carter's silent point.

John had sat down in his chair on the other side of the desk and smiled at her as he made a show of getting comfortable. "Think it would get me out of paperwork if I put it on the desk?" He asked, a weak joke, but she appreciated it.

"I doubt it," she replied with a smile as she turned away. "I will leave you to your paperwork," she told him over her shoulder, silently acknowledging that he was perhaps using it as a good excuse for their discussion to end. The conversation had gone well, but Teyla could see through his paperwork excuse. He hated paperwork.

She saw his cheek tweak at that, but she was already at the door and she activated the crystals to open it.

"You and Torren going to be at dinner in the Mess Hall tonight?" He asked, surprising her.

"Yes, we will," she replied from the open doorway.

"Great, I'll see you both there," he replied with a smile.

She nodded and walked away, the door shutting behind her as she headed down the corridor. It had been a successful conversation between them, and had turned out almost as she had predicted.

Only this time, she felt a well of sadness in her middle. She had known it was how he was going to respond, yet a part of her had hoped…

00000

John was feeling better about the world. The last couple of days had almost been back to normal, albeit somewhat strained at times with Teyla. He had tried to be as 'normal' as possible, and the effort was paying off. She no longer looked at him like he might explode or startle at any moment, and she seemed more relaxed herself.

He couldn't say that he wasn't disappointed though – in the situation, in himself, and in life at the moment.

For the first couple of days after the vision, he had lived in a strange hopeful place, in which he felt like life had given him a chance, an insight which gave him some hope for the future. Only, after a few more days, through which he and Teyla barely looked at each other, he began to realise that she was probably reacting that way because she was freaked about what she had seen. Which was a problem, because Teyla was the one of the team, and most of the city, who could handle any situation, so that she was so thrown had not been a good sign.

What had he expected anyway? She was with Kanaan and they had a kid together. He was just lucky that when they had finally talked, that she hadn't looked at him like she pitied him. He couldn't have handled that. Instead, she had been more than willing to brush aside what they had seen as some other reality, and he had jumped at it too – all the better for pretending that she didn't want him.

It probably had been another reality, or some weird Ancient hallucination kicked off by Janus' machine. Rodney and the other scientists had been arguing over the issue all week, and the majority agreed that it was more likely that they had witnessed six minutes of an alternate version's life.

Which was fine, he could live with that, and clearly Teyla wanted to go with that theory. So, he had made an effort, brush it all aside and pretend it didn't mean anything. He could do that, he was a master at that kind of approach, and it was already paying off. Life was returning to normal, and what was wrong with that?

The door to his office slid open by itself, drawing John's attention immediately. He hadn't heard the chimes, but then a second later General O'Neill filled the doorway, clearly having activated the door ahead of his approach.

"Sorry 'bout that," O'Neill apologised half-heartedly that suggested he wasn't really.

"General," John greeted him as he stood up to attention, but O'Neill waved him back down with near disgust. Strange how the only people John felt compelled to show proper respect, didn't want it. He smiled as he sat back down.

"Busy?" O'Neill asked as he moved into the office, the question seemingly innocent, but the way he was looking around at John's desk implied that he thought John had nothing to do.

John still wasn't sure why the IOA and Earth Defence had decided that he should remain Military Commander of Atlantis, despite it being on Earth and everyone assuming a General would be assigned to run the place. Perhaps it was the fact that he and Woolsey were sharing running the city, but it hadn't escaped John's notice that O'Neill spent a lot of time visiting the city. He worked with Woolsey a lot, which he clearly didn't enjoy, but John suspected he was also here to watch over John as well. John didn't mind, in fact he liked the General's visits.

"No, nothing to do," John shrugged, playing along with the game, as O'Neill sat down.

"Great, just how it should be," O'Neill replied and then smiled. It was a somewhat worrying smile. The last time John had seen it, it had been followed by O'Neill's announcement that John would remain in charge of Atlantis. Today though, it had a new mischievous smirk mixed in with the amusement.

"Since you've got nothing going on, I've got a mission for you," O'Neill announced after a long second.

That piqued John's interest. "Off world?" He asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"Nope," O'Neill replied, his attention having wavered to the potted plant just to his left, which he did each time he visited as if he was taking a personal interest in how it was doing.

Slightly disheartened by not going off world, John asked, "Someone interesting coming into the city?"

"Nope," O'Neill replied as he returned his full attention back to John.

John waited for more, but O'Neill just grinned. "Am I supposed to guess?" John asked, pushing it slightly, but the General was never a stickler for protocol.

O'Neill's grin widened. "You're gonna love me for this."

John lifted his eyebrows. What would be the most appropriate response to a general telling you that? I love you already Sir?

"Will I?" John asked with exaggerated suspicion.

"How do you feel about a week's trip to Hawaii?"

"I feel good about it," John replied immediately and entirely truthfully.

"There's more," O'Neill tempted. "You'll have to stay in a luxury condo on the beach, and, unfortunately, you will be required to play quite a lot of golf."

John tried vainly to control his delight. "Any surfing time?" He asked instead.

"I think that should be okay," O'Neill replied.

John considered it for all of a millisecond before he asked, "What's the catch?"

"It's an easy mission, Sheppard. We just need you to keep an eye on a particular businessman who will be staying in the next condo over."

John nodded, turning his mind away from the excited thoughts of golfing in Hawaii! He needed to be professional right now. "What's he up to?"

"You know anything about the stuff coming out of Area 51?"

"You mean the off world technology?" John asked.

"For years now, Area 51 was been working with a select and very small number of businesses that can gradually incorporate alien technology into the technology of the future. However, as you know from your run in with the nanite technology lose on Earth, sometimes these things get out of our control."

"It's the danger of using civilian contractors," John agreed. "You can't control everyone who has access to the technology. So this guy's gotten hold of something he shouldn't?"

"Not yet," O'Neill replied with feeling. "At least as far as we can tell. But, Woolsey and one of the IOA lackeys saw evidence in their little future visions to suggest that he does get his claws on some of it, and not for the good intended advancements we would hope for."

"Weapons?" John guessed.

"Probably. We'd already been tipped off about him from one of our trusted contractors, who said he had been fishing for information."

"What's this guy's name?"

"Jeff Salisbury. Built his father's small time electronics company up into a near empire in the late 80s, which he then sold off part of it for a fortune and turned the rest into a definite global empire instead."

"I haven't heard of him," John considered.

"He has a hand in most of the powerful electronic and engineering companies in the western hemisphere, but he keeps his head down. He had a less than perfect record growing up, something of a thug even in kindergarten. Hates authority."

John nodded – classic trouble for the SGC. "What's he up to in Hawaii?"

"Not sure, possibly just an innocent vacation. He loves golf, spends a fortune going to the best courses in the world, but its possible he also uses those vacations to meet up with some contacts. Maybe someone who's given him some leaked information."

"So we want to catch him in the act," John concluded.

"That's not the mission. We have no authority or real evidence that he's up to no good. He might not even have the information we think he has yet, or ever will. Your job is just to keep an eye on anyone he meets up with on his vacation."

"We don't have the authority?"

"What we going to say? That we got our evidence from an alien device that transports your mind to the future, so that you can watch six minutes of your life, remember it all correctly and then give accurate testimony later?"

John had to admit that probably wouldn't go down well.

"Besides the best minds here are still arguing about whether that was the actual future you saw," O'Neill added, like John needed to be reminded of that argument. "For now, we're just going to use any opportunity we can to keep an eye on him, just casually. You won't have any backup, it's just going to be the two of you."

"Two of us?" John asked.

"You and Teyla," O'Neill supplied. "We managed to get the condo next to Salisbury's with the story that you're a top businessman on your honeymoon."

"Honeymoon?" John almost yelped through his constricted throat.

"Sure, innocent enough to him," O'Neill replied. "That won't be a problem for you two, will it?" There had been the tiniest of pauses before the question and John snapped his attention to O'Neill's face, scrutinising it closely. He couldn't read anything there, but John worried what the pause had meant. Did O'Neill think he and Teyla were together?

"We're just friends, Sir," John found himself stating.

"Never thought otherwise," O'Neill replied, but there was another odd edge to the words that suggested the general was having fun at John's expense. John narrowed his eyes at his superior.

"Have you spoken to Teyla about the assignment?" John asked.

"I'll talk to her next, but I've already spoken with her about doing some occasional missions for us on Earth. She's the one we really want for this mission, you're her backup and the golf lackey we need."

John ignored the teasing digs at him, as he was too surprised at the fact that Teyla had signed up for undercover work. She hadn't said anything about that. "Really?"

"Sure, you've got a decent swing, I've heard," O'Neill replied as he stood up, deliberately misunderstanding John's question. "She's got no footprint anywhere on Earth outside the SGC. She's never had a bank account, never gone to high school, no one anywhere could recognise her – she's perfect for this kind of thing, especially up against a guy with the contacts Salisbury's got." John hadn't thought of Teyla's status on Earth like that before, but it made sense.

"Plus," O'Neill added, "It's possible she might get some information out of Salisbury's wife now or in the future. It's worth setting up a casual meeting now, two wives consoling each other while their uncaring husbands play golf on their vacations."

Clearly O'Neill had all this planned. "The IOA happy with Teyla leaving the city?" John asked, since there had been issues with her and Ronon being on Earth at first.

"All sorted. I trust her more than half my staff at Earth Defence; she's tough, honourable, and has a good sense of humour," O'Neill stated with pride, as if he had trained her himself. "You made a good choice…in inviting her to join your team," he added. There had been another one of those pauses.

John froze his expression. "Both Teyla and Ronon have been a vital part of my team and this city."

"Which is what I told the IOA. You're both gonna be flying out of San Francisco on commercial flights tomorrow just after 0900 hours. I've got someone coming in to brief you both this afternoon at 1300 hours, she'll have all you need, including wardrobe and paperwork. Name of Mattie, but call her Matilda," O'Neill added with that mischievous smile again.

"Yes, Sir," John replied, standing up belatedly as O'Neill opened the door without touching the controls. "Ahh, thank you, Sir."

"Enjoy yourself," O'Neill replied as he walked out, only to pause and look back. "But not _too_ much."

John opened his mouth to object or defend himself, but O'Neill was gone.

00000

Matilda turned out to be a highly efficient administrator who had a wide smile, which dimmed only briefly when John had called her Matilda.

"I will be sure to thank the General for that," she replied with a bemused smile. "Please call me Mattie."

"Sure, Mat-tie," John replied with emphasis and she smiled. She had worked for O'Neill for a number of years, the General having demanded she accompany him from the SGC to his new position in Earth Defence. She was surprisingly skinny for her age, which John guessed to be in her late forties, and she wore her pantsuit as comfortably as if she were used to wearing it at home. John felt oddly dishevelled next to her, and found himself straightening his lightly crumpled jacket as he sat down beside Teyla around the a table in Teyla's quarters. Torren wasn't around unfortunately – he was probably out for a walk with Kanaan.

"I have put together files for you both, and an extra one for you Teyla, may I call you Teyla or do you prefer Ms. Emmagan?"

Teyla took the two plastic folders from the woman with a smile. John waited to see how she would respond as he took his own file.

"Teyla is fine, thank you, Mattie," she replied with her usual calm charm.

"Wonderful. As you will see in the main file, a basic identity has been put together for you both. We'll keep the details saved on record in case you might need to take on your roles again in the future, so anything you add to the story please do let us know after the mission is complete. These are rough guides for you to expand upon, though the business background information we have created for you, Colonel, should be stuck to as precisely as possible."

"John," John added as he glanced down the detailed, clearly outlined background of this cover. "John, is fine," he clarified as he looked up to Mattie, feeling he should join in the casualness of the two women.

"Of course," Mattie replied. "Your name is Charles, known as Charlie, Collingwood." John winced at it. "You come from a very rich and powerful family, and you have added to that wealth through excellent investments in up and coming companies. You are a shareholder in Mr. Nelson's company, he is the contact General O'Neill would have mentioned to you. Mr Nelson has dropped your name into a conversation with Mr Salisbury last month in remarking that he knew you will be in Hawaii at the same time. Mr Salisbury will know nothing of you, and since he is a somewhat suspicious, though arrogant person, I would advise the most subtle approach."

"General O'Neill suggested I could make contact with Mrs Salisbury," Teyla said looking up from her file.

"Yes, Annette Salisbury is a somewhat neglected wife emotionally, but receives all the very best of life supplied by her husband's wealth. She's been known to take interest in other men, but as far as we have discovered, she has never strayed. They don't have any children, and Mr Salisbury has no other surviving family other than his elderly father and a cousin who has taken a position in one of Salisbury's electronic companies."

John turned a few pages in his file, scanning over the details of Mrs Salisbury's recent credit card purchases.

"We designed your background Teyla to mesh with hers. Your name is Freya Collingwood. You were born to an African father and an English mother."

John smiled at that. "That'll cover your being so polite."

Teyla frowned at him. "Being English or African?"

"The English are overly polite and upper class about everything," John replied.

Teyla frowned. "Is not Owen in anthropology and Mark in Radek's department both English?" John wondered how she knew these men so well as to refer to them by their first names. He couldn't even think who she meant. "They both have a cheeky personality," she added with an amused smile as she looked back down to her file.

John felt the strangest rush of jealousy and annoyance, which he quickly squashed because he had no right to feel that way about her.

She was with Kanaan.

A bizarre six minute view of a possible future didn't mean that he had a right to think of her as his in anyway. Only…

"Cheeky?" He repeated surprised at her choice of description along with the brightness to her smile.

She smiled at him again. "Mark is the one who changed all the labels on Radek's last experiment."

John had to smile at that. "Oh yeah, that was funny."

"Anyway," Mattie added, drawing their attention back to her. "You grew up in England until you were twenty-one, when you moved to the United States to live with a cousin. You went into PR, public relations, and are highly successful. You met Charles at a charity function three years ago and hit it off. You have been engaged for just over a year and marry in a small ceremony, officially today, the day before you start your honeymoon."

John glanced at Teyla – it was weird hearing someone talk like that about them, even though it was not actually about them. Teyla nodded along with Mattie.

"In your second file, Teyla, I have included information on American, English and African traditions that you may wish to know. I have also included some pointers on the American lingo, information on honeymoons, and suggestions on behaviour."

"Behaviour?" Teyla asked with interest.

"Yes, on a honeymoon, a couple usually are quite affectionate, though one would expect a man like Mr Collingwood to be more restrained," Mattie supplied and both the women looked at him with amusement. John frowned at them as they looked away. "Simply holding hands, having a pet name for each other, that sort of thing would be advisable to sell your story."

Okay, now John was feeling uncomfortable again. He glanced at Teyla, but she was nodding as she leafed through her second file. He angled his head to see if he could see what any of it said, but he couldn't make any of it out.

"You'll be flying out of San Francisco international airport tomorrow morning. Here are your passports and flight information. You will be staying on the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, in Princeville. There is a relatively new luxury resort, in which Mr Salisbury has a share, on the north shore, close to the golf course. You will be landing in Lihue airport and we've arranged a helicopter ride from there up to Princeville airport, where there will be a hire car waiting for you to drive to the resort. You should be there for lunchtime their time."

John opened his mouth to ask if he was going to get to fly the chopper, but Mattie continued, not allowing him the chance.

"We have a selection of clothes for you in those suitcases. If you need anything more, we can have it ready for you at San Francisco tomorrow morning. The weather currently on Kaua'i is warm with occasional showers, but they should hopefully clear up throughout the week. Any questions?" Mattie asked.

John felt slightly stunned as he shook his head and looked back down at the list of guests at his and Teyla's wedding – or non wedding.

He'd only been thinking this morning how things were getting easier with Teyla, that they could move forward and focus on their friendship, and now he was going to pretend to be her husband for the week…in Hawaii, and playing golf.

Either this was some sort of torture, or likely the best ever vacation!

00000  
TBC


	2. First Flight

**CHAPTER TWO – FIRST FLIGHT**

It had been a somewhat tense morning. From the moment she and John had met with Mattie in the Jumper bay there had been a strange atmosphere between them. It was not that she felt uncomfortable in John's presence, she never had, and he certainly seemed as talkative as normal, but nevertheless there was a strange mood between them. In a mutual unspoken attempt to dispel the tension, they had worked to keep up almost constant carefree conversation, as if by overly talking pleasantly with one another they could force the return of their easy friendship.

It had perhaps not helped that the first order of business early this morning had been sliding on the wedding rings that Mattie had supplied them. Teyla had been aware of the Earth ritual of John's people, but when actually sliding on her very elegant gold band with a small clear stone held at its centre, she had glanced at John to see him frowning down at his ring. She had realised that the last time he had looked down at such a ring on his finger would have been when he had removed his wedding ring at the end of his marriage to his ex-wife. Teyla had seen his frown deepen as he had dropped his hand to his side before he had smiled at her with a tight strained expression.

Mattie had flown over to San Francisco with them and had accompanied them in their motor vehicle ride to the airport. Mattie had supplied them with a few extra items for their trip, including a laptop for John that would be in keeping with his character and a camera for them to use to capture images of anyone Mr Salisbury might meet. Mattie had jokingly told them that they must make sure to take more usual photos of their honeymoon vacation to make it look more authentic if someone were to look through their camera's memory. She and John and not looked at each other at that.

The large black car had pulled up outside the entrance to the San Francisco's international airport and she and John had climbed out, retrieved their luggage and carry on bags, before Mattie had finally wished them well. She had assured them that their mission was to be as relaxed as possible, for they had to do nothing but observe their target, and that they should enjoy the sunshine. Then Mattie had turned away, climbed back into the car, and it had pulled away, leaving Teyla and John stood alone together on the kerbside.

There had been a moment of silence between them as they both watched the long black car follow the road away from them, disappearing into the rest of the early morning traffic around the airport.

Teyla had glanced up at John beside her to see him look round at her at the same moment, and there had been a moment of awareness of that unspoken atmosphere. Only it was quickly suppressed and ignored once more as John had turned on the spot, indicated the massive building before them and announced, "So, this is an airport."

She in turn had smiled and asked far more questions than required as they had made their way inside the massive building. All to fill that strange vibrating unease between them, which she had thought almost gone following their conversation two days ago. However, now they had been thrown together, alone, on a mission in which they were to pretend they were a newly married couple.

It was almost amusing in the ridiculous timing of it, but she was determined that this shared mission/vacation could help repair much of their friendship, and she was excited to see more of Earth. Hawaii in particular sounded quite fascinating, as she asked John as they had settled into plush comfortable seats in the premium lounge area their 'first class' tickets allowed them to enjoy.

"It's great, you're gonna love it," John told her animatedly. "Blue skies as far as you can see, clean sandy beaches to toast yourself on, perfectly clear ocean to swim in, killer waves-"

"_Killer_ waves?" She asked worriedly though she suspected he meant that they would be very good waves.

He grinned at her, his smile bright, but there remained that cautiousness around his eyes. "Okay, _great_ waves, to surf," he amended as he lifted his cup of hot coffee to his lips.

"It sounds wonderful," she agreed as she sipped on her own hot beverage. They had risen very early this morning to make it to the airport in good time. They had already wandered around the stores inside the large building and she had thoroughly enjoyed exploring this new area of Earth culture that was an airport.

She had never seen a place such as this. So many people from different countries and cities across the planet, all merging in one place as they followed their own schedules, all with luggage held close. She had seen crying children, angry adults, and security guards escorting a couple away to be interviewed. It seemed that so much occurred in a transport hub that was an airport; she found it quite fascinating. There was nothing like this in her own galaxy, and she had enjoyed looking out across the loose crowds of people moving through the wide open spaces of the airport, most of them seeming anxious or excited as they went about their journeys.

Now sat in the lounge, she was able to relax somewhat and she set her coffee down on the small table to her right and turned her attention to the small pot of snack food she had been offered.

"And of course, some of the best golf courses in the world," John added as he sat back into the dark leather seat beside hers.

She smiled at the teasing tone to his words, designed to remind her that she would have to spend time at the golf course with him. "Which I suspect had been the 'selling point' of this trip for you," she told him, using General O'Neill's term.

John lifted an eyebrow in agreement as he held up the large newspaper he had purchased in one of the stores. She was somewhat familiar with the papers now, so many making their way into Atlantis since they had arrived on Earth.

"And the surfing," he added.

She smiled at his profile. "Of course," she replied as she returned her attention to her small pot of dried fruits and seeds. "Snookums," she added, using the pet name that had been particularly laughed over last night during the team's late meal in the Mess Hall. Rodney and Carson had thoroughly enjoyed teasing John with names she could call him, as would be appropriate for a new doting wife to call her husband on Earth. John had taken it in good humour, as he usually did, but the table had found this particular pet name the most amusing.

She could feel John's narrowed glare on her, but she kept her attention on her snack food, smiling to herself.

John had always used humour to defuse uncomfortable or tense situations and currently she decided that it was a very good approach. She and John had a well-established friendship, on which they were both clearly falling back upon following the strange event of the 'future' visions, so she felt emboldened to use humour with him now, to tease as he so often did of others. Besides, she was away from Atlantis, away from any responsibility, other than keeping a casual eye upon a potential criminal on vacation. Compared to the missions she and John had been on before, this would be very easy and likely very relaxing. Jennifer had told her that Hawaii was a place to relax thoroughly, that it was part of the culture on the islands to think good thoughts and enjoy life. She intended to do so, even if it meant experiencing some lingering tensions in the air between her and John. She was looking forward to some time to unwind.

Movement in the distance drew her attention and she looked up from her snacks towards the floor to ceiling windows set before their seats, to see one of the massive Earth planes rolling across the flat ground in the distance. She had seen the Earth craft flying high overhead, but she had never seen one rolling along the ground. The wheels supporting the long weight looked surprisingly slender.

She watched as the plane turned and paused, facing down the length of the straight flat runway. She had already asked many questions of John on how many people such a craft could hold, how fast they went, how long they could fly for, and all other manner of queries she had thought of to fill the air between. Now, looking out at the craft herself, she frowned at the unexpected flimsiness of the wings stretching out from its sides. The engines she knew were the large barrel shaped objects on the underside of the wings, stretching out barely any distance from them. Surely they were too small to push such a large craft up into the air.

The plane began to roll forward, slowly but steadily gaining speed.

She rose up from her seat and walked the short distance to the large windows so that she could see further out across the flat ground.

The plane thundered onward, a forceful gathering speed building as it raced down the runway, and suddenly it began to lift up from the ground. She watched, mouth almost open, as the massive craft soared up into the air, defying its bulk and the natural laws of all that she had seen in her life.

She had seen Jumpers and F302s take off before, but those had been gentle, almost abstract, take offs. This had been a rushing, forceful, powerful, yet elegant sight.

She stood by the window, her neck craned at a sharp angle, as she watched the plane continue up into the sky, moving away so quickly. She could understand most of the physics of how it could fly like that, but to watch it actually do so was thrilling in a way she had not experienced before. The intelligence and combined skills of those on this world to conceive and then actually take the step of launching themselves into the air like that…it was vastly impressive.

She dropped her gaze back down the runway to see another plane was ready for its take off, so again she watched the impressive display repeat. The second viewing was no less bizarre and exciting to watch.

A third plane, its painted designs different from the others', rolled into its starting position.

So many people in each craft, all flying off to different places across the planet, from different cultures she had not encountered yet, living lives on this world so different to her own, all of them sharing this wondrous way of travelling.

She watched the third plane rise up from gravity's heavy hold, and turned back towards her and John's seats and saw that he was smiling up at her.

"Cool, huh?" He asked with a grin as she headed back to her seat beside him.

"It is most impressive," she confirmed, though not quite communicating how extraordinary it was to watch. She sat back down and reached for her coffee again, but she still had a very good view to continue watching. "It must be such an experience to pilot such a craft," she added looking round at John.

She had not really understood until now how different it must be to pilot an Earth vessel compared to an Ancient one. There had been a clear danger in the speed and power used to lift those heavy planes off the earth. John had told her stories of it being a very different flying experience, but until now she had not truly grasped the basic differences for herself.

"If I'd been allowed to fly us out to Kaua'i, you could have sat up front and really experienced flying," John replied with some bitterness. He had not been pleased to be denied the chance to pilot. "I'm supposed to be a top rich executive, I could have a private jet," he muttered as he looked back down at his newspaper.

She smiled at his latest seized opportunity to sneak in another grumbling complaint. "You are supposed to be on vacation, not piloting us."

"It would have saved time and been more fun," he argued.

She found his annoyance somewhat amusing though, for she was enjoying this lengthier travelling experience, which enabled her to see more of Earth's people.

"Are you going to sulk about this throughout the entire trip?" She asked him, using a tone a wife might use.

He pursed his lips, controlling his likely affirmative response, but also to control the smile she saw in his expression. "Maybe," he replied instead.

She smiled as she set her coffee back down. "I would not have married you had I realised you were one to sulk," she added as she sat back, pleased at her second chance to make light of their pretend marriage.

She felt his gaze on her again and this time she looked round at him with a lifted eyebrow. She saw some surprise in his smile, before he looked back down at his paper.

"Yes, Dear," he replied and she smiled with relief. She understood the sarcastic use of the term and she happily returned her attention to the next plane beginning its take off outside.

00000

He might not have been allowed to fly them out to Kaua'i, but at least O'Neill had given them first class seats on the flight. John had flown in first class as a kid, when he and Dave had been dragged along to 'family vacations', which just happened to be located where Dad had been going to a conference or for some business negotiations. John didn't remember much of the first class experience when he was that young, but then he had spent most of his time staring out the window, absolutely in love with the experience of flying. Nothing in his life had been as exciting as going that fast as a kid. Even girls hadn't been enough to distract him from his favourite thing in life and his plan to become a pilot, of course the girls had been a close second, slightly ahead of ferris wheels.

Amused at the memory of his youth, John glanced at Teyla beside him. They were waiting in a short queue to enter the plane, the tiny little red carpet stretching out between two steel bollards almost ridiculous in its attempt to make the first class boarding experience anything more than just being the first onboard.

Teyla seemed interested in everything, full of questions about anything and everything she saw, which was good because he was still feeling weird about this pretend honeymoon thing. To the point where he had begun to suspect that O'Neill had worked out that he and Teyla had seen something personal in their 'future' visions and had done this on purpose to torment John. At least that had been John's thinking late last night as he had lain wide-awake, the clock ticking. By two in the morning, he had had to admit that he was being stupid, and that this was a real mission and that he and Teyla were O'Neill's best bet to get some intel on Salisbury. He should just relax, enjoy Hawaii for heaven's sake, after all this was a paid for premium vacation, and it would give him and Teyla a chance to re-establish their friendship. So, he would look on this trip as the great opportunity is was to relax, complete an easy mission, and get comfortable with Teyla again.

Despite those good intentions, he had felt uncomfortable with her since he had met up with her and Mattie early this morning. He had worked hard to pretend otherwise though, and it was possible that Teyla was as well, because he couldn't remember her being so chatty before. She had lapsed back into her more usual silence in the first class lounge while she had watched the planes taking off.

He had watched her stood at the massive window, the morning sunshine glowing over her, her nice white shirt hugging her shoulders and waist nicely as she had watched her first ever take off at such a close distance. He hadn't been able to see her face, but the way she had angled her head to follow the path of the planes up into the sky had told him enough. She had stood there for about twenty minutes, fascinated, and he had just watched her, understanding and enjoying her amazement. For some escapable reason, he had felt more comfortable with her after that, and her unexpected teasing had helped as well.

Now stood about to board the plane, John glanced at her, checking she was okay. She was keeping closer than normal, most likely because she wasn't too sure of how things worked in the airport, or perhaps she was playing the part of a honeymooner.

"Good Morning, Sir, Madam," the flight attendant greeted them, and John handed across his boarding pass so Teyla would know what to do. "How are you both this morning?"

"Great, thanks," John replied with a smile.

"I see in our records that you are travelling on your honeymoon?" The overtly smiling lady added.

"Yes, we are," Teyla replied as she handed over her pass.

"Congratulations to you both. There will complimentary champagne for you once we are airborne. Your seats are just through there," she gestured through the door behind her as she handed back the passes. "I hope you have a lovely flight with us today and thank you for choosing to fly with us."

John nodded and smiled as he led Teyla into the plane. He paused at the start of the aisle and gestured her ahead of him, checking their seat numbers again as he did. He pointed Teyla towards their seats and took her bag for her as she slid into the window seat. Maybe it was the act of pretending to be a new husband, or that he wanted her first experience of a flight to go well, but he felt he could look after her a little bit on this trip. He tucked away their carry on bags, once her book and his paper were removed, and then he sat down in his seat.

It had been so long since he had been on a commercial flight that it almost felt strange. He wasn't used to having a plush seat beneath him with sculpted arms rests with remote controls in them. He talked Teyla through the buttons when she asked, then the small tv screen they had each, as well as the small bag of complimentary toiletries. It was only after he settled down properly that he noticed that she seemed a little tense. Which also made him realise he was looking at her shoulders and the front of her shirt, which was parted slightly to reveal a modest but nice amount of cleavage. He looked up and away quickly.

Further down the plane, he could hear that it was fast filling up. The first class seats around them were filled with a predominance of businessmen, some with families. John watched it all with easy enjoyment, everything seeming new to him with all of Teyla's former questions. He glanced at his watch – boarding would finish any minute now. Maybe he would take a nap during the flight, since he hadn't gotten all that much sleep last night. Once they were on Kaua'i, it would feel more like a mission he was sure.

The flight attendants were sealing up the doors now, and John leant out of his seat to look back down the long length of the plane, outlined by two long lines of knees and elbows, through a gap in the dividing curtain. Conversation in the cabin lowered as the usual pilot's greeting started overhead.

It would have been far more fun if he had gotten to fly out to Kaua'i, but hey, at least it was a vacation.

He glanced at Teyla next to him, to see that she was frowning lightly up into the air, listening to the announcement closely. Her shoulders were slightly tense again and she looked around at the people securing their seats at the pilot's request.

"You okay?" John asked her.

She looked at him a little sharply as if she had been lost in some anxiety. She smiled, "Yes, I am fine."

John kept his eyes on her, making it clear that he wasn't convinced. She angled her head slightly as she smiled in acknowledgement at his silent point.

"They look far larger from the outside," she replied, surprising John again. He had seen her crawl through far smaller spaces than sitting in a plane, in first class, but then some people didn't like the claustrophobic feeling of planes. In a Jumper, she could move around more freely.

"Once we're airborne you can walk down the aisles a bit," he told her, though admittedly there wasn't all that much space in the aisles even compared to in a Jumper. To him, the planes were well roomy, for he was comfortable in the tight confined cockpit of a fighter jet.

She nodded at that with another smile that was meant to appease him.

The plane began to roll back from the airport's gate, and she jerked slightly, looking out of the small window to her immediate left. John looked down to see that her right hand was tightly gripping the armrest. He couldn't remember seeing her so tense before.

"We're just taxing out to the runway," he assured her, keeping his tone casual so as not to let on that he could tell she was nervous. He leant a little closer so that he could look out of the window. "Nice day to be flying, we'll get a great view of San Francisco when we're up in the air."

Teyla nodded and glanced past him to where the flight attendant was supplying the safety information. He supposed Teyla was not used to this kind of travel, and especially not in a confined seat packed in with so many people. He wasn't sure what to say to her to reassure her, so he just pretended to listen to the safety info, though he could have done it himself.

The ground was a little uneven under the plane as it rolled out to their runway and he glanced at Teyla again to see that she was sitting securely back in her seat, clearly making herself relax.

"This is the best bit of flying," he told her. "Getting ready to take off, then the moment when the engines kick in."

She looked out the window to where she could see part of the engines. "They are larger than they appeared from a distance," she commented.

"More basic technology than…what we're used to," he amended before he mentioned the Jumpers. "But they do the job," he added proudly.

"I had expected the wings to be thicker," she commented as she sat back round in her seat and met his gaze.

"Safest way to travel," he assured her with a smile.

She smiled back. "I am sure we are in very good hands."

"Absolutely," he assured her, strangely amused in seeing this side of her. He was used to the tough unstoppable Teyla. Of course, he had seen a new side of her in that future vision too.

He glanced away from her at that, reaching out to check that everything was properly secured around them as the plane rolled to a stop at the end of their runway. "Of course, if I'd been allowed to fly us…" he couldn't help but add.

She laughed lightly, and he smiled victoriously at making her smile more naturally.

The sound of the engines abruptly kicked up in volume. He loved this part. It wouldn't be quite as thrilling as what he was used to with fighter jets, but any take off was good in his books, even after all his years of experience. Teyla however looked surprised at the volume, glancing at him to check all was as expected. He smiled at her and looked past her to the view out of the window. She looked round as well, just as the plane began to roll forward.

The speed was immediate, pushing against John's body gradually but completely. He still missed this with a Jumper. He watched Teyla, but she seemed intent now on the view outside moving past with more and more speed. He saw her hand tighten on the armrest again, and he had the compulsion to cover her hand with his, just to let her know all was okay, but he held back.

She was with Kanaan.

He would bet Ronon would touch her hand like that, it would be natural between them, but John had never had that kind of connection with Teyla. He didn't want to step over that line and confuse things. Now, he wished he had the ease of friendship as she had with Ronon, and Carson too would have covered her hand in reassurance. Actually, she would probably be comforting Carson, he thought with a smile as the pressure around him increased and he knew any minute now…

The faint feeling of weightlessness began, and he looked round with a grin as he saw the ground begin to drop away outside the window.

Teyla leant further towards the window and he could see that she was more relaxed already.

The plane soared up, the pressure against his ears as familiar as walking, and he settled comfortably back into his seat. Actually, it was quite nice to let someone else do the flying and allow him just to enjoy the feeling.

Next to him, Teyla looked round at him with a large grin, her eyes bright and her cheeks slightly flushed. All nervousness was gone and she was as thrilled as he knew she had been when watching take offs from the airport. Her smile was beautiful, her eyes sparkling and her skin glowing as she met his eyes.

In that moment, he felt a proper rush of attraction and arousal in his body, and unusually this time he left himself feel it, to embrace the feeling just a little. Normally he suppressed it immediately, looking away from her, and distracting himself quickly away from such thoughts, but now, after that vision, something inside him felt somehow justified in feeling this way.

Yet, she wasn't available, and that fact, for the first time, made him feel a proper ache in his chest.

0000

The flight to Kaua'i had felt far longer than she had anticipated, since the slightly oppressive feeling of the pressure against her, the noise of the engines, and the somewhat confining area in which she could sit, bothered her somewhat. However, that aside, she had enjoyed the flight.

The experience of flying in an Earth craft was entirely different than in a Jumper or a Daedalus class ship. Here, she could feel the literal pressures against her, feel the vibration of the engines, and the occasional shifts of the plane. It was far more real to her perhaps, making the reality of flying so high above the clouds more dangerous and somehow more thrilling.

Looking out of the small window next to her, she had a wondrous view of the ocean, glittering in the sunshine, through the mesmerising layers of clouds.

She had watched a movie on the small screen set in front of her seat, using headphones, which had helped with blocking out some of the sounds around her. A meal was served to them, which was very nice. She and John had a menu from which to select what they wanted and it was served elegantly on a bright clean plate. After the meal, John had angled his seat back so that he could sleep for a while. She did not feel she could sleep though, the unusual feelings of flying too apparent to her. However, with him sleeping beside her and the gentle mixture of conversation around her, she lapsed almost into a meditative state as she watched the clouds and vast ocean stretching out far below them.

She woke from her spontaneous doze, to see that John was awake and watching a movie himself now, as he snacked on a small packet of food he had purchased in the airport. She felt strange waking up in such an environment, but she felt slightly more rested having done so. Stretching out her neck and back, she sat up straighter in her seat, and John looked round with a smile, appearing more rested and relaxed than before.

"Nice nap?" He asked as he lowered his earphones and paused the movie.

"Yes," she replied simply as she stretched again and contemplated leaving her seat to walk around in the limited space available. She had done so several times on the flight, but there was not much to do while doing so except observe the other passengers.

"You want to get past?" He asked, somehow having understood what she was thinking.

Letting out a long breath she relaxed back into her seat and shook her head. "It is not much longer until we land, is it not?" She asked, checking her watch again.

"Another half hour," John replied, "It'll be about midday their time when we land." He offered her the packet of snack food he was eating from, but she shook her head in thanks. She would eat something later.

She reached for the travel book that Mattie had supplied them with on the island they would be staying. Teyla had read some of it earlier and she could see that John had been reading it while she had been asleep. He had turned over some corners as markers. She flicked through the book to open to the pages he had marked. They were on locations that the file had reported Mr Salisbury often visited. One was a most wondrous looking waterfall. She would like to visit that place. Another was a vast beach contained within a large cove. The last group of pages were on the golf course that John would be playing at. It looked very elegantly landscaped, but the design of the paths the players had to follow was lost on her. She had little interest for the game, but she could appreciate that it took skill to play. She would have to endure hours in the clubhouse waiting for John to finish apparently. At least the location was beautiful. The pictures of the island were almost too beautiful to be believed.

John, who had been watching the end of his movie, moved next to her, and she watched as he shut down his screen and put the earphones away. He smiled round at her as he worked. She noted that his beard growth had come through slightly more throughout their trip. The combination of his darker chin and jaw, with the dark blue shirt he wore, made him look far more relaxed and less like his work persona.

"See anywhere you want to visit?" He asked.

Teyla pulled her mind away from where that suggestion had taken her mind whilst she had been admiring him. She flicked through the book back to the waterfall and then the beach he had marked. "This looks a particularly beautiful setting to visit," she replied.

He leant a fraction closer to see the pictures of the beach along with her and she caught the artificial, but attractive, scent that he normally wore. He must have applied more while she was asleep, because she was sure the scent was stronger now than earlier. If he had been moving round and maybe left his seat to use the restroom, she must have been in a far deeper sleep than she had realised. But, then she had not been sleeping so well of late, since those confusing and thought proving six minutes of her possible future that she had witnessed.

"Looks nice," he remarked concerning the beach. "Apparently its one of his favourite spots, according to Nelson, O'Neill's contact, so he'll probably go visit it."

Teyla hoped so. An announcement echoed through the cabin, stating that they were near their destination and there was a flurry of activity as the other passengers returned to their seats and tided away their things. Teyla glanced at John to see that he was stowing away a magazine that he had been reading earlier. Teyla did the same, John taking the book from her to put in with their carry on luggage once more. As she secured her safety belt around her middle, she leant closer to her window, to see the vague outline of a small island down to the left under narrow stretches of clouds.

John sat down next to her and several warning messages were repeated throughout the plane to prepare everyone for the landing. Then the plane seemed to drop slightly under them, the weightlessness feeling shocking her, but a glance at John assured her that this was normal. Everyone else in the cabin seemed settled, except for two young children further forward who were grizzling.

"We'll steadily drop down towards Kaua'i," John told her informing her that her attempts to conceal her concern had again been unsuccessful with him.

She nodded with understanding and felt another lowering of the plane. She was too used to the Jumpers and the Daedalus, both of which had artificial gravity and inertial dampeners. To distract herself, she focused on what she could see outside the window and was pleased that she could see more now they were lowering through the sky.

As the minutes passed, only one child crying in the cabin, the clouds passing around the plane, she watched Kaua'i gradually appear ahead of them. From her angle, she could only see a somewhat rocky looking shore with a clear line of white telling of the ocean waves breaking up against their feet. She watched the mountains grow larger and further to the left, and flat land was finally revealed ahead.

A rush of the same excited nervousness she had felt during their take off returned. She had every faith that the pilot of this craft was highly skilled and the weather was fair, but it was such a strange sensation that she found herself feeling surprisingly anxious again. Yet, as more of Kaua'i was revealed she found herself studying the approaching landscape with fascination. The land was flat immediately below, but in the distance, mountains circled, with clouds clinging around their peaks.

Next to her, John leant closer, looking out at Kaua'i along with her, and they watched as the land seemed to rise up towards the underside of the plane. Teyla peered closer to the window to watch with delight and respect as the plane lowered further, further, and then with a shudder she felt the plane touch down upon the ground. Applause broke out from some in the cabin, and she copied them, but her attention was fully on the new land outside her window. She watched the landscape slow down around them, and as they turned, she could see part of a far smaller airport waiting for them.

They had arrived.

0000  
TBC


	3. The Villa

**CHAPTER THREE – THE VILLA  
**

The beauty of Kaua'i stretched out far below the chopper. It was a beautiful island, with a more rugged than developed landscape, unlike some parts of the other islands. John had been to Hawaii a couple of times before, but not for a long time, and never to Kaua'i.

From up here they could see reservoirs, waterfalls, and the steady but small amount of traffic making its way along the limited road network across the island. Teyla seemed to take particular interest in the waterfalls, and was pointing out sights of interest the entire way. John tried to relax and not think about the mechanics of the chopper flight, but he kept glancing towards the pilot's seat just an arm's reach in front of his and Teyla's seats, wanting to check dials and readings. It was habit, but also because he was still annoyed O'Neill hadn't let him fly them out to Princeville. O'Neill should know better. But then, he and Teyla were supposed to be different people, a fact that had been impressed upon him again as soon as the first person in Lihue airport had referred to him as Mr Collingwood.

Mattie had told them to consider themselves 'in character' as soon as they landed. They hadn't brought their briefing files with them, because if anyone became suspicious of them and searched their condo, it would be a dead giveaway. John had memorised the vague details last night easily enough. Charlie Collingwood was a top businessman with plenty of family, as well as his own well earned, money. John had known enough of those types growing up spending too much time with Dad filling his vacations with work. He and Dave had 'shared' their beside the pool time and surfing instruction with businessmen who had turned up to meet with Dad. Collingwood's type, John had decided, would be a more laid back outside of the boardroom type, and so he figured that he and Teyla could be themselves. Except of course, they were a married couple. A point he had decided to take on board when he and Teyla had waited for their luggage. As soon as it had arrived, John had lifted both the suitcases up and onto their waiting trolley. Teyla had lifted her surprised eyebrow at his gallantry, and what she might consider to be overbearing behaviour.

"Husbands do all the heavy lifting here," he had explained with a smile, only just having stopped himself from saying 'on Earth'.

She had frowned prettily at that, with that sideways part smirk part shy confusion she sometimes had. "Why?" She had asked immediately, appearing honesty interested as he had pushed their trolley forward, leading the way out towards the airport's exit. She could easily lift luggage twice the weight of hers, and he hadn't insisted on doing so before in San Francisco – even though he had thought about offering.

"Because it makes us feel important," John replied, reasonably honestly. She had seemed to accept that easily with a nod and an amused smile.

They had found their helipad and pilot easily enough, a light rainstorm just finishing as they had climbed up into the hired chopper. John had let Teyla up into the chopper first, as a good husband would do, and had automatically supported her up with a hand against her back in doing so. He rarely touched her like that, but it had felt natural enough in the moment, and she hadn't objected. They were in character after all. It was just acting.

It was also the reason why he had chosen the seat right next to hers in the back of the chopper. It could sit four tourists abreast, but a husband would sit right next to his wife despite the extra space they would give each other if he had sat further away.

Teyla pointed to something down in the distance again and he angled his head to see what she was gesturing too. The north shore of the island was coming into view now, with its semi-circular coves, cliffs, and smaller beaches. The air was somewhat humid after the rain, but the constant trade winds would keep things cool this time of the year. It really was a beautiful island.

He nodded to her and she smiled before looking back out at the view. She was her more usual relaxed self in a chopper, despite it being her first trip in one. Clearly it had been the confining and more dramatic nature of a plane taking off and landing that had unnerved her before. He hadn't seen her smile so much as she had in the last ten minutes of the chopper ride. Of course, she had never seen an island like Kaua'i before, he guessed. Any islands they had visited back in Pegasus had been via Jumper and none of them had been this tropical.

In the distance, he got a brief glimpse of the golf courses before the chopper turned and made its steady way towards the smaller airport of Princeville.

John watched the landing with an expert eye and had to admit the pilot was good. As the chopper powered down and the blades stopped overhead, the pilot looked over his shoulder with a bright smile towards Teyla. John didn't catch what the guy said, probably another 'Aloha' or something, but the sparkle in his eyes had more to do with Teyla's beauty in John's opinion. The sense of jealousy and disapproval rose in John again at seeing another man's interest in her – she was with someone already. Kanaan. As John climbed out of the chopper behind Teyla, he decided that the guy's landing could have been better.

The rental car was waiting for them, a smiling face above a handwritten whiteboard held up to catch their attention. John could see immediately that the younger male face above the sign was slightly nervous, and John wondered what kind of impression of Mr Collingwood O'Neill had sent ahead of them to receive such attention.

"Mr and Mrs Collingwood?" The young man asked with a wide smile, which lingered on Teyla far longer. "Aloha," he added with a wider grin as his eyes dropped a fraction too low down Teyla's front for John's liking. "I have brought your rental vehicle. We have supplied some complimentary refreshments and everything you will need to enjoy your stay in Kaua'i." John wondered what 'everything' actually meant.

"Thanks," John replied with as natural a smile as he could as he took the offered keys and carried his and Teyla's luggage towards the back end of the car.

Teyla made some unnecessary small talk with the overly handsome young tanned man before she repeated his Aloha and walked away.

Teyla wandered round to the right side of the car to the passenger door, with her newly growing experience of travelling in cars. She opened the door and slid inside as John stowed away their luggage, alongside the small chill cabinet that had been set up for them in the trunk. A quick glance inside revealed water, fruit juice, and two bottles of beer. It was even his favourite brand. Some service! John wondered what else O'Neill had underestimated in his description of what this vacation/mission would hold.

Trunk securely shut, John walked round to the driver's side, opened the door and squeezed himself into the seat next to Teyla.

"He has even supplied us with a map, helpfully marked with our destination," Teyla said as she looked up from the map.

"Nice of him," John muttered as he reached down for the latch to adjust his seat back enough to accommodate his longer legs.

Teyla glanced at him with a worryingly knowing look. "Was there a reason why you were less than friendly with him?"

Shoving the seat back further still, John shrugged dismissively. "Just staying in character," he replied, making sure not to comment on how short the guy's legs obviously were.

Teyla seemed to accept that answer with another one of her half-amused half-frowning smiles as she set the map on her lap and reached for her seatbelt. "Shall I navigate, or do you know the way?" She asked as she clicked the belt home.

John had studied the road map last night, and again on the flight here, to get it clearly in his head. It always paid to know every possible escape or pursuit route on a mission, even if it was to be as laid back at this one promised to be. "I've got it in my head, but might need a reminder on the road names," he replied as he started up the engine, adjusted Short Legs' angle of the mirrors, and reversed the car out of its space.

It was only when he paused at the junction down the road that he realised how long it had been since he had last driven. Years. It was almost as natural as flying to him, but it struck him now, as he waited to pull out into the flow of thin traffic, how much had changed since the last time he had been behind a wheel. He glanced at Teyla next to him, surprised at seeing her wearing sunglasses. They were large elegant expressive looking shades that made her look less herself and more the character she was playing.

She glanced at him. "It is nice being away from the city," she said conversationally. "As much as I miss Torren."

John pulled out into onto the main road as he nodded. "You won't miss the late night wake up calls."

"True," she replied with a smile in her voice. "Though, I am unsure how much surveillance we will need to keep on Mr Salisbury."

"O'Neill said to keep it casual. We're just going to keep a vague eye on him."

"I hope that he spends some time on a beach, Jennifer said the beaches are wonderful in Hawaii."

"That they are," John replied as he settled more comfortably in his seat, one elbow resting on the ledge next to him. He had missed driving. "I didn't know Keller had been here."

They made small talk the rest of the way, breaking it for short silences and checks on the road names they were passing. In no time, they were heading down the right road, and after only a bit of rubbernecking, they pulled up outside the 'resort'.

"This is definitely it," Teyla commented as she checked the address.

"Seems O'Neill left out a few details again," John muttered as he turned the car into the drive that led up to the last one in a line of newly designed villas, which was to be theirs for the next week.

They were custom-built villas, in a short line stretching out along one side of a cul-de-sac, all looking out towards the beach, which was a short distance from the other side of the road. It must have cost a fortune to have bought the land let alone build the villas here. Mature palms and wide beds surrounded the line of villas, giving an exclusive protective feel to the resort. This was a place that clearly offered a quiet luxurious space to stay – just what a guy like Salisbury would want.

John opened his car door and climbed out. The fresh ocean air rushed in to meet him as he stood up. The view was spectacular, the waves rippling steadily into the small-secluded cove. It was much smaller than most beaches, and there wasn't a huge amount of sand, but it was beautiful. The tall palm trees were waving in the breeze and John drew in the sweet smell of the warm ocean air.

"Mr and Mrs Collingwood?" A singsong female voice called.

John turned and saw a petite Hawaiian woman walking out of the entrance to their villa, her arm full of a file and clipboard, and a bright pretty smile on her face.

"Yes, we are," John replied as he and Teyla moved around the car to meet her.

"Aloha, I am Teresa," the woman introduced herself as she stretched out a highly manicured hand towards Teyla first. "Welcome to Exclusive Paradise Resort. And congratulations on your wedding. I hope the ceremony went well?"

"It was great," John replied awkwardly, trying to sound sincere as he shook her hand. She had a firm grip. "Thanks."

"Let's get you settled into your villa and then I will leave you alone to enjoy your stay," she added with an efficient air as she turned and walked smartly back towards the open door to their base of operations for the week.

After retrieving the luggage, John followed the women into the building. Teyla and Teresa were talking about the nonexistent wedding, and John suspected he saw some relief in Teyla's expression as he set the suitcases down inside the whitewash entrance.

The place was stunning. Teresa walked them around the place, which consisted of a large lounge/diner with an open plan kitchen with wide marble worktops. All the walls were white, with occasional bright framed photos of the island here and there. The furniture all looked deep and comfortable and expensive. Tall wide windows looked out on the sea view out front on the other side of the road. John exchanged a pointed look with Teyla to see that there was a good view of the next villa over, where Salisbury would be staying.

Teresa led them upstairs next, where two bedrooms were again decorated in the same elegant minimal but comfortable way. Only the fact that one bedroom didn't hold a bed as expected hit him - instead it had been turned into a study/game room. O'Neill had commented about it being a honeymoon condo, but John had expected there to be a second bed for him to use. These places always had more than one bedroom. At least there was a couch in the study. The master bedroom, or rather the _only_ bedroom, was expansive and the large king-size bed looked out to a small balcony. They stepped out onto the balcony, which would be good for the spying element of this mission, and the view took John's breath away again. He heard Teyla take a deep relaxed breath beside him.

"And finally an en suite bathroom for you both off the master bedroom," Teresa continued in her fast efficient tour. Clearly she was used to dealing with impatient visitors.

John and Teyla both obligingly looked into the large posh bathroom. More marble and a massive shower and bath. There were pretty flowering plants in here, as there had been decorating the other rooms, and there were fluffy towels and basic toiletries waiting for them. Even a big white fluffy mat on the floor that looked deep enough to sleep comfortably on.

The place had to be worth a fortune.

"The fridge and freezer are stocked with basic items, but as you no doubt noted on your way here, there is an excellent store just a few roads away. If you wish to eat out there are restaurants in easy reach, and the first unit you passed on the way in, is actually an entertainment area. There is a bar and small restaurant, as well as a pool table inside, and with a pool outside for you to use whenever you wish. There are tennis courts over in the next resort that you can use without charge, as well as their entertainment evenings. I believe tonight they have a traditional music and dance demonstration."

John just nodded along with it all, leaving Teyla to ask the occasional question.

"If you need any assistance, I can be found in the condo above the entertainment unit. My number is here," Teresa announced as she led them back down the stairs, offering Teyla her business card with another bright smile. "I can be reached night or day. Do you have any questions?"

John glanced at Teyla beside him as they all paused in the open light lobby, its ocean views distracting.

"No, thank you," Teyla replied with a similarly crisp bright tone as Teresa had used and the woman smiled back.

"Enjoy your stay."

"I am sure we will," Teyla replied as she took the offered door keys from Teresa.

Teresa headed out the front door with a last bright efficient work smile and clipped her away down the driveway in her overly high heels.

John turned on the spot to look around at the villa again. "Wow, this is some place."

Teyla had shut the door behind Teresa and followed him into the lounge area with its tall windows looking out towards the ocean.

"It seems very luxurious," Teyla commented.

John wandered between two couches and picked up a remote. He triggered the big screen tv and smiled as sports came on. He grinned round at Teyla, only to see that she had both their suitcases and was taking them up the stairs. He opened his mouth to object and remind her of his earlier argument about husbands doing the lifting, but she sent him a pointed smile before she disappeared from view.

"Yes, Dear," John muttered to himself with a smile as he put the remote down, and headed into the kitchen to check out the food supplies.

0000

It was wonderful here, Teyla reflected as she looked out at the scenic view out beyond the swaying topical trees and low tailored shrubbery. The entertainment area of the small resort turned out to be an open plan lower level, with a collection of small tables and chairs spilling out into the sunlight. A smiling man had taken their orders for a light meal before bringing them complimentary drinks. As she contemplated the overly large display of decoration around the top of the tall glass, working out how best to drink the contents, she found herself continuing to be distracted by the view and the ocean's breeze.

It seemed impossible for anything but wonderful things to exist in this place. The air felt so clean and fresh, the near constant breeze enlivening, and the distant sound of small waves breaking against the sandy beach all created such a wondrous place. Any and all worries she might have had, simply fled from her thoughts, her mind, and her soul.

It was too wonderful.

John too seemed to have been affected by it all. He too sat quietly beside her looking out at the view. She tugged her eyes from the ocean, frowning briefly at her complex drink, and on to John next to her.

His brow was smooth, his expression relaxed, and his shoulders lowered. He blinked slowly as he drew in a deep breath, leant back in his seat beside her comfortably.

He noticed her attention and looked round at her. His expression looked so relaxed and open it caught at something inside her, but she quickly looked away, deeply conscious that she had been openly admiring him.

She looked down to her drink with an exaggerated wince. "I seem to be struggling," she said by way of a weak excuse to start a conversation.

He smiled though and reached out, tugging out the paper decorations, leaving just the long straw for her to drink through.

"Thank you," she said with a silly feeling of embarrassment. She took a quick sip of the colourful drink. It was sweet, fresh, and had a clear taste of alcohol to it.

"I'm not really a fan of cocktails," John commented about his own drink, but he still took a sip of it. They had been free gifts to them as newlyweds after all. Teyla assumed it would be rude to refuse them on Earth as it would on any other planet. She would sip her drink slowly, for they were still on a mission, regardless of the wonderful location.

"Think we could convince the IOA to move the city here?" John asked in a very low voice.

Teyla smiled as she took one more sip of her drink and set it away from her for a while. "I would be willing to argue for such a move, but I think it unlikely."

John sighed, his gaze directed out at the ocean. "Yeah, shame."

Teyla nodded in agreement. They lapsed into easy silence once more.

Several people were sat at nearby tables, but their conversation was low, only highlighted by the occasional light peal of laughter. Well behind the tables, Teyla could hear someone swimming through the long narrow bright blue pool, whilst another jumped in with a loud splash and another burst of laughter. The sky was perfectly blue above them; the darker clouds from the previous light rainfall were long gone, leaving only white high wispy clouds instead. In the far distance to the left, high beyond the far side of the cove, she could see clouds teasing around the rising mountains, but they too held no threat of rain. The breeze off the ocean danced leaves, branches, clothing and strands of hair elegantly, cooling and refreshing everything. The gentle repetitive forward and back of the ocean meeting the beach was so relaxing that she found her breathing falling into synch with the natural rhythm. In with the light rush of approaching waves and then out as the water pulled easily back out.

The waiter was suddenly in front of her and Teyla almost started at the interruption breaking her out of the near meditative state. She smiled up at the man as he set her plate down in front of her. The food looked lovely.

"And a complimentary side order for you both," the waiter said with a smile as he added the new gift to their table.

"Thanks," John said with feeling as he reached for the small dish, pulling it closer between both their plates. "I love onion rings. You've had these before?"

"Only once," she replied as she accepted his offer of the top onion ring and he encouraged her to dip it into the small pot of sauce on the edge of the small plate.

It tasted good, a little stronger than she had expected, but enjoyable. She imagined that the vegetable being fried in such a fashion would make it a quite fattening food, but she was on vacation. Jennifer had emphasised that it was Earth tradition that when on vacation one should indulge in luxuries and leisure time. Teyla could work with that, especially here.

As she tried some of her grilled fish sat on a light salad, she contemplated with view once more.

"I would imagine that if everyone could live in a place like this, that there would be no such thing as ill feelings or violence," she considered philosophically.

John angled his head in partial agreement out the corner of her eye as he munched on his own meal. "Someone would still probably one day get the idea that someone else's patch of beach was better than theirs," he said with regret clear in his voice.

She considered that as she piled up another forkful of her meal. "I suppose you are right. It is human nature to want what you do not have."

A moment of thick silence filled her awareness as she realised what she had said and the deeper meaning it held for her. A wince of regret at exposing a glimmer of her innermost thoughts, she kept her gaze down on her food, sure that John would not have read into the statement anything other than the philosophical truth about human nature.

He turned faintly next to her and she saw him reach for an onion ring. "Twelve o'clock," he whispered quietly as he dunked a ring into the pot of sauce. She understood instantly and she nodded as if they had simply been continuing a normal discussion.

She set her cutlery down on her plate as she reached again for her drink. As she did so, she glanced around the seating area, as if taking only a passing interest, and she easily spotted their target. She took only a moment to gather in all she could about him before she returned her attention to her drink and food.

Mr Salisbury was a somewhat average looking man, but he moved with a very straight back and had a thick set to his shoulders that implied that he worked out frequently. Despite the heat, he wore a dark jacket over a pale shirt. He had been heading into the covered area of the entertainment unit, he was alone, and he carried a small bag that looked the right size and shape to contain a laptop computer. He wore dark sunglasses of a similar design to John's, and he walked with an air of extreme confidence. Other than that, he looked just as the photos in the file on him she had studied. His hair was overly black for his age, concealing greying hair, at his wrist she had seen the flash of a thick watch, and he wore several rings on his fingers.

"No sign of the Mrs," John commented quietly, his body slightly turned towards her, so that his back and shoulder were to the target, making it appear that he had no interest in Mr Salisbury's arrival.

John had put his new cell phone next to him on the table and he checked it now, working on the character that he was that would be one to frequently check on his work despite sharing a meal with his new wife. Mattie had told Teyla to object to that occasionally because it was clear that Mrs Salisbury was quite dissatisfied with her husband's lack of attention on her during their vacations.

Teyla picked up her drink and took another sip as she and John made vague small talk, though their attention not on the discussion at all.

"He is coming over to sit several tables over, to your nine o'clock," she reported.

John nodded as he reached for his cell phone again. This time he picked it up and she saw him scroll through to the internet option. A dummy email account had been set up in Charlie Collingwood's name to which various fake emails had been sent, just in case the internet connection set up for those using the resort was illegally accessed. It was possible that Mr Salisbury had, or would, discover his illegal information in such a manner. However, several of the emails in Charlie Collingwood's account were there for a clear purpose.

"I'm letting Jack know we're here safely," John told her, which was his code for General O'Neill. She watched his thumb move expertly fast over the small keypad on the phone and he sent the message off. At which point Teyla spotted Teresa headed towards them.

"I hope you are both settled in comfortably?" Teresa asked as she stopped on the far side of their table.

"Great, thanks," John replied, his smile fake to Teyla's eyes, but Teyla saw the slight flush to Teresa's cheeks as she looked at John, which was the same reaction as Teresa had showed previously during their tour of the villa. Teyla glanced down at the last of her meal to conceal her amusement.

"I am very pleased to hear it," Teresa replied with another of her extremely bright smiles. Teyla had thought previously that it was very unusual for someone to have teeth so very white, and seeing them appear again in the bright sunshine confirmed her suspicion that the teeth were not a natural colour. "Enjoy your stay," Teresa concluded as she smiled at Teyla, for a far shorter period than at John, and walked away.

Walked away to Mr Salisbury's table. Teyla looked away immediately, for it should not be of interest to her.

John sat back in his seat next to her, disappearing out of her view while she was still sat forward at the table eating, which left her with a very clear view of their target. Teresa was sitting down at the table with Mr Salisbury, setting her thick file on the table next to her as she waved the barman over to her table, who appeared used to the request. Teyla looked at John sat back beside her, to see that he had one arm stretched along the back of her own chair. He looked overly relaxed and indifferent, his sunglasses blocking much of his expression. She was not fooled, he was keenly aware of the other table, as she was.

Teyla smiled at him, needing to fill the moment with conversation for appearances, but also because she had found Teresa amusing.

"It is not normal for a woman to have teeth that bright," she reported in a low voice.

John grinned, the sunlight glowing over the lenses of his glasses, concealing his eyes completely from her, which was somewhat disconcerting. "The whole smile is fake," he added.

"Except the crush she is clearly developing for you which seems quite real," Teyla could not help but tease.

She saw the frown and the faint twitch of discomfort to his expression around his sunglasses and it only amused her further. He seemed quite obtuse to how attractive he was sometimes.

"I'm a married man," he replied by way of distraction and he glanced away around the seated area, no doubt taking full interest in the fact that Mr Salisbury and Teresa were now beginning a meal. Teresa was spreading out some paperwork as they ate and she was pointing to some of them with her equally fake looking long sculpted nails. She still looked quite elegant and pretty though, and Teyla had felt somewhat short and plain next to her earlier, which was a foolish thing to think. It was perhaps only because the woman had shown such a clear attraction to John that had caused such a thought.

John reached out for his cell phone again, checking it, likely to see if General O'Neill had replied via the fake email account as much as to continue his role as distracted businessman. Teyla waited for him to call up the clearly empty inbox, before she reached out, took the phone from his hand, and set it down on the table further away from him.

"We are on our honeymoon," she said slightly louder than previously, but not so much so that it would seem odd, only that she was making a point to her new husband.

"Yes, Dear," John replied and she had to control her amusement at the sarcasm in it as she finished her fish and salad.

0000

Salisbury had stayed at his table only as long as his meal lasted. Clearly holding a quick business meeting over the meal, Salisbury had seemed indifferent to the paperwork Teresa had shown him. From the brief glimpses, John had been able to safely catch of the paperwork it had been simple maps and drawings. John would put it in his report, but for now it wasn't all that interesting for Salisbury. He nodded a lot through Teresa's presentation, of which John could only hear the odd word or two, and they hadn't been useful ones. What was clear was that they weren't discussing possible alien technology on Earth.

His food eaten, Salisbury had selected a few of the maps spread across the table and handed them to Teresa – his choices perhaps. Then, the businessman was up from his seat and moving away back out of the small spread of tables. Teresa hadn't appeared put off by Salisbury's abrupt manner, so it was probably usual behaviour for the guy.

Salisbury stopped briefly to shake hands with a tall, grey-haired smiling guy who had to be a Texan, if the flag emblazoned across his shirt was any indication. Salisbury shook the guy's hand with the first sign of a smile. The Texan's wife, a petite blonde in a thin sarong, embraced Salisbury in an overt hug. Salisbury took the greeting and the kiss on the cheek with apparent familiarity.

John noticed Teyla glance at him as she turned a page of the tourist book they had been pretending to go through. John angled his head in acknowledgement of the new faces. If they could get the couple innocently into a photo in the background it would be good, but for now, they were just new faces to memorise.

Salisbury stood talking with the couple, turning and indicating down the resort's road before he broke away and disappeared from view. The Texas couple made their way through the tables straight for the bar and John heard the barman greet them by name – Gabe and Trisha.

"You're looking as muscular as ever, Jazzy," Trisha proclaimed to the barman as they settled on the tall bar stools.

"You keep talking like that and Mr Gabe here will shoot me," Jazzy the barman replied as he set two bottles on the bar for them. Gabe saluted him with his bottle before taking a sip. "I'd have thought you would be on the golf course already."

"We've got business elsewhere," Gabe replied, whilst Trisha called overly bright hellos to the couple in the nearby pool. "Might give Jeff a run for his money tomorrow, but we're kicking it back for the rest of the week."

"Gabe's gonna go on that shoreline romantic walk with me at last," Trisha cooed as she perched high on her stool.

"Hell, can't you and Annette go alone?" Gabe whined.

John glanced at Teyla beside him carefully out the corner of his eyes. Annette was Salisbury's wife.

"At least once on his trip you and I are gonna walk in the sunset along the beach and you're gonna love it," Trisha replied with a determination that hovered somewhere between an order and a barely concealed plea for attention.

"You know I give you all the love you want," Gabe replied with enough suggestiveness to turn John's stomach. Trisha giggled at the big guy's groping.

John looked away from his pretend staring at the distant ocean and met Teyla's gaze through their combined layers of sunglasses. Her expression was pained and surprised, but then maybe she hadn't heard that kind of behaviour on Earth yet.

"Amazing what you can learn if you just kick back and watch the ocean," John told her in a low voice and a smile.

She smiled as she turned her attention back to her book and the cooling cup of coffee she had ordered with their desserts. "A romantic walk along the coast and golf tomorrow," she summarised with a pained wince at the end meant to tease him that she wasn't looking forward to the golf part of the mission/vacation.

She had been teasing him a lot today, maybe because it played into the 'let's make light of it all' party line they were both working along, but there was something different about her since they had left Atlantis this morning. She looked more relaxed than he had seen her in a while, not that he had been looking very directly at her this last week after the six minutes 'back to the future' jump vision.

Maybe it was the Hawaiian sun, the gentle steady breeze dancing through her hair, or the bright white tailored shirt she wore in contrast to her golden skin, but she looked somehow more…approachable.

He frowned at his own description.

It was just that she was making an effort to enjoy this bizarrely timed mission. It wasn't that she felt differently towards him now – was it?

"We should have brought the camera with us," Teyla said as she sat back fully in her seat, her drink in her hand and her attention focused out towards the surf.

"We'll have plenty of time," John replied – Trisha and Gabe would be around tomorrow at least.

He had stretched his arm along the back of her chair some time ago, going with the standard possessive male gesture, but now she was sat back in her seat, the warmth of her shoulders was very close and wisps of her hair teased against his skin. It wasn't half as intimate as the future vision had been, but it was abruptly close.

Feeling faintly uncomfortable with that, he held still, glancing around at the entertainment area, and tried not to focus on the delicate scent of her hair so close to him now.

She leant away and put her cup back on the table, and sat back against his arm again with a contented sounding sigh.

Unbidden memories were stubbornly replaying in his mind for sure now - the remembered the touch of her hand against his chest, the feel of her warm feminine body nestling up to his.

"You all finished?" John asked abruptly as he sat forward, pulling his arm back from the tempting zone that was Teyla.

Teyla looked at him with a surprised almost sleepy look, but immediately smiled and nodded. John got to his feet, making a show of checking his cell again, as he regained control of his stupid lingering thoughts about what he shouldn't. As she picked up her bag and stepped around the table to join him, John glanced across the tables and nodded his thanks to the barman. Gabe and Trisha looked round with interest, but John turned away, happy with the moment. If the Texans mentioned the newlyweds to Salisbury in passing it would all help.

The long strap of her bag settled over her shoulder, Teyla walked with him through the tables out to the road. John wondered if he should be holding her hand – it would look good for the whole marriage fake out, but right now he really didn't think he could. Holding a woman's hand had always been a very intimate thing for him, something he had only done with a few women. It was probably something about being distant or too in control or whatever, but he found the gesture too personal. He glanced down at Teyla's closest elegant relaxed hand loose at her side, brushing lightly against her light fabric pants.

She looked up and round at him as they started the route along the road towards the far end where their villa waited.

"A very good start," Teyla said with a smile.

John nodded, drawing his wayward thoughts back under control again. If she could be professional and friendly at once, then so could he. He had managed it thus far after all.

"Sure," he replied lamely as the cell finally vibrated in his hand. "Jack's replied," he reported as he tapped open the message.

"_Great – enjoy the sunshine"_ was O'Neill's succinct reply. Typical.

"That is not too difficult," Teyla replied as John read it out. She had her face turned up towards the high sun, her eyes partly closed in enjoyment. She looked really relaxed.

"I'll check out some intel from Jazzy the barman later about the golf course tomorrow," John suggested as he tucked away the cell phone.

"In the belief that everyone talks to the man behind the bar?" Teyla asked.

"Exactly," John replied with a grin. "That and the course photos stuck up behind the bar," he confessed.

Teyla looked round up at him with a lazy smile, her eyes opening from her sun worship, as they reached the smoothly paved path up to their villa.

"Perhaps it would also work for you to speak with Teresa," she added after a moment, her attention directed down to the pavings under their feet as they reached the door. The suggestion surprised him – and disappointed him a little too – as if she would get jealous, it was a stupid thought.

"Not sure she's the type to share business intel," John replied as he opened the villa's front door and pushed it open for Teyla to enter first.

"I understand," Teyla replied with a too knowing smile and nod as she led the way into the villa.

They had this whole house just for them. Maybe it was that he was too used to barracks and his quarters in Atlantis, but it was almost too much space – or maybe it had too much to do with what he was trying to avoid thinking about with Teyla.

Silence filled the air again as she wandered away into the living space, looking out towards the palm tree framed view of the small beach across the road outside. The array of windows in the room gave them the best view of the road outside and, more importantly, the front of Salisbury's villa just next door. They could stay in here and keep a subtle vigil on what was going on. Had to be one of the best stakeout locations ever, and despite his wayward thoughts, he had the best company and a large flatscreen tv.

That lifted his mood almost immediately. "Wanna see what's on tv?" He asked her as he followed her into the living room, scooping up the remote as he settled down on the largest couch. From here, he had a great view of all the windows.

Teyla turned and smiled at him, though it seemed slightly more tired. "Very well," she replied as she settled down on the couch next to him, closer than he had expected, but then they could been seen through the windows, so it was probably for show.

0000  
TBC


	4. Sunset

**CHAPTER FOUR – SUNSET**

The following hours slid smoothly by, through which she and John maintained their subtle yet close scrutiny of any activity outside. However, they also had watched some sport, several programmes that presented comedic situations, and a movie that she had seen before but enjoyed watching again. They had eaten a light late meal, which John had prepared from the various supplies left for them in the beautifully elegant kitchen space just back from the living area. Whilst he had organised the food, she had shifted her seat in the smaller couch to observe a small family wandering along the road outside. The smallest of the children carried a small brightly coloured bucket and was swinging a plastic spade around enthusiastically. Torren would love it here. She could sit with him on the sandy beach for a while and then sit in the shade of the trees. Perhaps in the future she could bring him on another trip to this lovely island.

After their meal, she had settled back into the deep plush cushions of the couch and, while John had watched some sporting event on the tv, she slipped into a light easy sleep, lifting from it occasionally as John moved slightly next to her or the sound on the television caught her attention. The dream rose up through the faint distractions, in fact they slid into the imagery.

She and John were on the plane again, high above the ground, but the seats and the window had begun to change, turning into strange mixtures of Athosian furniture common in a tent and Atlantis' simple pale seats. The plane shifted under her, and out of the window she watched the clouds carefully for any hint of a Wraith dart. Far below, under the thick colourful clouds, she knew there was a planet she had visited before, but it had no definite name. She imagined children running across sandy shores, laughter and splashing water filling the air. In amongst the play, she saw Halling stand up, smiling widely and waving to her. A pang of loss welled up inside her and the plane shuddered under her once more. In a wash of fear for her people, she pressed herself further against the glass to watch for any Wraith, whilst she reached out to John's arm alongside hers to wake him from his sleep.

"Teyla," John's voice cut into the dream and now it was he who was waking her.

She struggled awake, the emotional confused images sliding away like water running through her hands, taking Halling's smile with it.

John moved into view and she saw him stood outlined against the window, the sunlight outside vastly different. Her mind sharpening, she sat upright from her slumped position and ran her fingers through her hair as she stood up to join him.

"What is it?" She asked as she looked out at the differently coloured sky outside. The sun was lowering, casting the sky and the few clouds in varying yellows and deep orange.

"Salisburys are going on their romantic walk with Gabe and Trisha," John reported with a grin. In one hand, he held the camera supplied to them, held up for a shot of the dramatic sky.

As Teyla reached his side stood at the windows, ostensibly just to watch the changing sky, the two couples were walking across the road at a relaxed pace, towards the shadows of the trees that formed the broken barrier between the road and the beach. Teyla heard John take several quick pictures before the couples disappeared from view.

He lowered the camera and she looked round at him.

"Feel like taking a walk?" He suggested with a grin.

"Let me change into something a little more presentable," she replied as she quickly turned away, heading for the stairs up to the bedroom where she had hung up her clothes before lunch. She would wear something a little warmer against the evening breeze off the ocean, and besides she had worn the same clothes all day.

She contemplated the collection of alien clothes supplied for her by Mattie, and decided on a long dress with a matching shawl to go over her shoulders and arms. She slid on the garments without thinking, only to remember that the bedroom door was open and that John could innocently walk in at any moment. She must remember that – he would feel ever so flustered if he were to walk in on her partially clothed.

As she pulled on the elegant yet warm shawl, she pulled open the doors to the balcony and looked out over the treetops to see the two target couples moving along the far side of the small beach. It looked like there were steps up from the beach on that far side. She slipped on her sandals, closed the balcony doors, and headed back downstairs, reporting what she had seen to John as she did so.

"Another couple have headed in the same direction," John reported in turn. He had his shoes on and was holding a light jacket over his arm, and the camera in his hand, as he headed to meet her at the front door. She saw him take in her new clothing in a brief glance, and she wondered if her choice had been appropriate.

"Is this outfit fitting for a romantic walk?" She asked to be sure.

"It's fine, very nice," he replied in that awkward way of his, for clearly she had thrown him with the question, one she had never asked him before. "It'll be fine," he repeated as he pulled open the door and waited for her to walk through it first. She was not yet used to this deferential manner. She was used to being his backup, supporting him into dangerous situations, working and protecting the team and others together. She was not used to having someone hold open a door and wait for her to walk through first each time. She appreciated the thought and the point of it in this situation, and made sure to thank John every time he did so.

It was warmer outside than she had expected, the ocean breeze still present, but it felt more humid than earlier. It was enlivening though following her impromptu sleep, and as she walked down the villa's path, she drew in the air and once again lost herself in admiration for the location. At the end of the path, she paused, waiting for John to catch up with her after he had held back to secure the door. As he reached her side, he paused and he angled his closest elbow towards her. She looked round at him and his elbow, seeing an amused sparkle in his eyes.

"It's customary to escort your wife on walks," he explained, offering his bent elbow again.

Realising what he meant, she reached out and looped her closest arm through his, pausing to glance up at him to be sure she was doing it correctly.

"Hand on my elbow," he instructed with a smile and she adjusted her hold, her palm settling a little awkwardly into the angle of his inner elbow. His arm was far warmer than she had expected and the soft folded back fabric of his shirtsleeve felt comfortable under her touch.

He nodded and his arm relaxed closer to his side and they both moved forward, pausing to check the road was clear, despite the fact that their villa was right at the end of the quiet road. The way very clear, they walked across the flat road, the day's stored heat glowing up from its artificial surface. The shadows of the palm trees and trimmed shrubbery on the far side engulfed them as they stepped onto sand for the first time. A strange thrill went through her, and she was reminded of the young child she had seen who had clearly been taking great delight in playing in the sand.

As they moved between the trees and shrubs, their limited view of the beach grew considerably, until they left the shadows and stepped into the growing orange sunlight once more. The cove was far smaller than the others she had seen from above on their trip over the island earlier today, but it was no less beautiful. Dark rock, marked with patches of bright green vegetation, formed a wall of seclusion around the cove, the thin narrow beach at its base, stretching around part of the cove. In the distance, about half way along that beach, the previous couple John had seen were walking hand in hand, so they followed in turn, adding more footprints to the ones already broken through the sand. The wind was stronger now free of obstruction, but it was still warm and Teyla turned her face into its touch, enjoying the feeling of it tangling through her hair. Trusting John to guide her, she closed her eyes to enjoy the feel of this paradise, tightening her hand around his elbow a little more securely to follow his movements.

They walked in silence for quite some time, through which she took pleasure in the evening, the area, and this chance to experience such a paradise. She would have to be sure to thank General O'Neill.

She turned her gaze away from the sea and the far side of the cove towards which they were making steady progress. "Jennifer told me it is customary to purchase a gift for friends when away on a vacation."

"Bet you Rodney told her to mention that," John replied.

She smiled in response, looking down at the sand beneath their feet as they walked. "Is it not true nonetheless?"

"Sure," John replied with a casual lift of his far shoulder. "You got any ideas for anyone?"

"I saw a young boy with a small bucket and spade earlier," she considered for Torren.

"Rodney would love that," John replied, deliberately misunderstanding her.

She leant her weight against him in a nudge as punishment of his teasing, but the action only made her more aware of the warm presence of his strong body beside her, his arm strong and lean under her hand. The sea breeze was ruffling his hair against his neck and temple and she was shockingly tempted to reach up to touch his skin herself.

"I meant for Torren, as you well know," she replied instead. "I was thinking that we could buy something for General O'Neill as well, for this is the most luxurious of places to be sent on a mission."

"If you want," he replied with another faint shrug, this time with his closest shoulder, which meant his arm moved slightly under her touch, the skin of his forearm meeting her hand briefly as his shirtsleeve shifted. "I'm sure I can come up with something for Ronon and Rodney."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I suspect for Rodney it will be something with lemons on it again?" she guessed.

John pulled an exaggerated expression of innocence. "No," he clearly lied and she laughed. Last month he had bought Rodney a birthday gift of a mug and plate decorated with bright yellow lemons. Rodney had not found it all that amusing.

They had almost made it around the far end of the beach and they slowed as they reached the point where a path began up the steep green-coated cliff-side where the others had disappeared. Steps were cut into the rock, forming a staircase that zigzagged up the near vertical rise up from the beach.

"After you," John offered, but this time his tone implied that it was not truly chivalry that motivated him, but preference not to be the first to make the steep climb. She gave him a pointed look to which he just smiled. It was a very handsome smile, especially in the sinking colourful light of the evening.

The steps were overly large, giving one a good feeling of purchase as she worked her way up. A railing, which was either a pole of wood or thick rope at some points, ran along the side of the steps to help assist their ascent. Soil and some residual sand coated the top of the stone steps and in it she could make out recent footprints, confirming that this had truly been the route the others had taken off the beach.

"Least it'll be easier going back down," John muttered from behind her, sounding slightly out of breath, which she too was beginning to feel. Vegetation had found every available crack and ledge around the steps on which to grow, and it provided some protection from the increasing strength of the breeze further up from the beach.

"I did not realise Earth romantic walks would be so much work," she told him over her shoulder.

John chuckled from two steps down behind her. "Always is for us guys."

She smiled at that she paused to look up the next section of the steps to see that they reached what looked like a flat path above. Using the moment for a brief pause, whilst John was still a couple of steps behind her, she turned and took in the view of the cove behind them. The view of the small bay was stunning, the tip of the waves entering the cove forming lines of white surf across the darkening ocean. The beach across which they had walked, looked even smaller from up here, but it also emphasised the secluded feel of the resort. She could understand why Mr Salisbury might choose the location for meeting contacts he wished to keep private. The short stretch of the resort's villas was visible nestled two thirds of the way around the cove, nicely sheltered from the stronger weather carried in from the ocean.

John's presence, arriving at the step below hers, drew her attention back to him. He stopped on his step and turned to look out at the view along with her. The headland of mountainside up which they were ascending blocked much of the dying sunlight, making it much darker on the steps, and the shadows fell most handsomely over him. The top buttons of his shirt were open, and from her slightly elevated position, she could see much of his upper chest. She pulled her eyes up, admonishing herself, and regretfully once more finding her thoughts turning to her memories of the vision.

She could recall so vividly how he had felt beside her, warm, strong and loving. She had watched her own hand caress gently against his chest, the heat of his body and their shared bed, having warmed through his soft t-shirt under her gentle touch. She also remembered wishing there had been no fabric between his skin and hers.

Only it was likely not her future. In fact, surely it could not be, for if her future self had experienced that moment herself in the past, she would remember the moment and perhaps have relayed a message to her. Which meant that surely what she had seen had been an alternative reality, or alternative future.

It was not her future.

Yet, she knew she wished it could be.

It was the romantic walk, the shadowed handsome lines of his profile, and the elegantly masculine outline of his throat and chest, that were to blame for her wistful thoughts.

He had shown no interest, and there had been plenty of opportunities for him to have over the years. Yes, certainly there was an attraction of sorts between them, a gentle flirtation at times, but that was often the same of many of his friendship with women in Atlantis. He was a charmingly contained man, who expressed himself with great determination when a moment counted, but if it was not significant for him, he clearly pulled back.

He had seemed nothing but uncomfortable about their 'future' vision.

She was torturing herself to allow her mind to wander into the long sensitive subject of her relationship with John Sheppard of Earth. And now, she was on Earth, walking through warm air and humid breezes through a darkening evening in an environment that was one of the most stunning she had experienced. It was natural for it to provoke such thoughts.

She just had to set them away, and move on. Again.

She dropped her eyes away from him, sliding off the wide length of his shoulder so close to her, and she turned away. Lifting the hem of her dress slightly once more, she continued on their climb, up the last steps to the path promised above.

As she did so, she heard a faint click, and she looked back over her shoulder. John was still turned towards the view, and was lowering the small camera they had been given. He turned round to follow her and looked up at her with what was almost a sheepish half smile.

"To keep up the pretence," he explained away his taking of the photo to the false relationship they were presenting.

"Of course," she replied before continuing on up the next large rock cut step. "We should take a few of the villa," she suggested, by way of making conversation. "I would like to keep a few pictures anyway, to show the others the beauty of this island."

"And one of the view from the balcony," John added, surprising her.

She reached the top step and found that the flat section was in fact the continuation of the path they were following. It had been formed out of a natural level of the mountainside that made up the headland that stretched out into the ocean. It was slightly damper up here, with lush vegetation having taken full advantage of the stable even ground. The main path was narrow, but kept clear, and she followed it with fascination as the path gradually followed around the headland, their cove disappearing from view to be replaced by the vast stretch of the ocean. The horizon above which the sun was lowering, previously concealed behind the headland, came into view. The sun was almost touching the horizon now, sending its spectacular colours across the sky and clouds. Further around the path another, far larger bay on the other side of the headland appeared, with a long wide stretch of golden sand running out towards another point of headland in the distance.

"Nice," John muttered reverently from beside her and she saw him lift up the camera again to take a picture.

"Will the camera be able to capture the colours?" She asked with interest, leaning closer to him to see the small screen on the back of the camera that displayed the photo John had just taken.

"Should do, it's a good one," John replied as he pressed the shutter button again, capturing another picture.

"I suppose that the photos we capture might need to be analysed carefully," she considered as she turned her gaze away from the camera and the view, and returned to the targets of this walk. "I cannot see them ahead," she noted quietly.

There was still some more of the path around to the left, so she followed it. The view of the new larger bay now filling the entire right side of the path, and up ahead she could see a wooden bench set between two rocky outcroppings. From there one would have an excellent view of the entire bay and the beach below. Yet, just past it, she could see another handrail.

"There is another set of steps," she reported over her shoulder to John, who was closer behind her than she had realised. Their footsteps were quiet on the smooth rocky ground of the path.

"Down to the other beach, probably," he replied as he craned his neck to try and see where the steps descended.

Teyla reached the smooth wooden bench, set on the outcropping of rock. She moved around it, ostensibly to look at the view, but from where she was afforded the best view down the steps. She spied their targets immediately. She waved John towards her from where he had been checking out the top of the new steps.

The Salisburys and the other couple were down on the beach below, but appeared to have pre-selected a place to sit. There were four large reclined wooden chairs set out in a semi-circle facing the sunset, and a man, dressed in a smart suit and holding a tray, stood close by.

"Looks like Salisbury gets the full service wherever he goes," John remarked from beside her.

Teyla exchanged a look with him. "Quite extravagant of them," Teyla considered. "There are only four seats, so it does not look like they are planning to meet up with anyone else."

"Probably," John replied, peering out to the left, where there was a small settlement stretched out beyond the beach.

There were small dots of people spread along the rest of the beach, but it appeared that Mr Salisbury had had the best area from which to view the sunset reserved for him and his wife and guests. She thought that said much about his character.

"If we go down there," John continued, "we'll have to walk on past them to make it look like we're having the long romantic walk."

"Perhaps it would be best if we sit here," she suggested, indicating the bench behind them. "From up here we can observe them, but with the appearance of simply enjoying the sunset ourselves."

"Good plan," John agreed, but there had been the smallest pause before he had replied.

She glanced at him beside her, stood close to her so that he could see down the cliff-side to where Salisbury was seated on the beach below. He pulled back and turned his attention to sitting down on the bench. He was biting the inside of his lower lip, which he often did when he was worried or thoughtful.

Feeling strangely relieved that they would remain up here and not walk down and along the larger, busier beach, with the appearance of being the newly married couple, she sat down on the bench beside him.

John lifted up the camera and lined up a photo of the loungers below. "Nice spot," he commented, but again there seemed something slightly odd to his tone.

"It is beautiful," Teyla replied truthfully. The sun was touching the horizon now, and the colours across the sky were changing by the moment. On this side of the mountainside, dividing this cove from theirs, they were perfectly sheltered from the cooling evening breeze. They had the most perfect view and the smooth feel of the bench under her told her that many sat here to enjoy this view.

The camera clicked again in John's hands and she glanced at the small display screen again. Silence, not comfortable like before, seemed to fill the fresh empty delightful air around them, and she was not certain if its cause was just due to her.

It took her a moment to identify the lingering disappointment running through her. This was likely the most romantic of places she had ever been, sat alone with a man who she admired beyond all others, who in another life might have enjoyed lying by her side talking quietly in the dark of night. Only, this version of John, her John, seemed only uncomfortable and awkward with her, or perhaps he was not enjoying the trip as she was.

She glanced at him beside her as he took another picture of the sunset and the beach below. "You want to take some?" He asked with a smile as he offered her the camera. She had used an Earth camera several times, and she willingly took it, grateful for some distraction.

She would focus on the mission and on enjoying her friendship with John. That had been her mandate coming on this working vacation, and she would stick to it.

0000

She took the camera from him with a wide smile, though it looked a little strained. Maybe she was tired from her long day of travelling. She was probably missing Torren too.

Or maybe she was wishing Kanaan was with her in this ridiculously romantic setting.

On the spectrum between personal torture and glorious vacation of a lifetime, the evening was definitely swinging towards complete uncomfortable torture for John.

Sure, it had seemed a good idea – follow the target on a walk along the beach. It seemed had innocent and easy, but then Teyla had appeared down the stairs in a figure hugging long tan dress that had done nothing to conceal all her assets.

Walking with her along the beach had seemed simple enough too, until she had been at his side, her hand wrapped around his arm and her body brushing against his ever so slightly. The wind had been dancing her hair around her face and her mostly bared shoulders. When she had body nudged him, to tell him off for joking about Rodney, he had felt the swell of her hip against his and the momentary press of her breast against the outside of his arm.

That had been when the measuring needle had begun swinging towards just plain torture.

Only then, they had climbed those steps. He had offered her to go first, which had felt even more important when she was looking so feminine and non-military. That had been a mistake, because he had then been forced to observe her backview as she worked her way up the steep steps. The dress had continued to hug her curves with admirable determination, and the way she had elegantly lifted the hem of the dress as she climbed, had only made her seem more feminine and tempting. He had tried to look away, to enjoy the great view of the cove, but his traitorous eyes had kept sliding back to her.

It seemed that some part of him had become less restrained with admiring her. He knew why of course. It was, yet again, because of that stupid 'future' vision. The cat was out of the bag as far as a part of his male psyche was concerned. He had experienced what it felt like to hold her, to slide his hand over her hip and belly, and, just as with the little jealous moments earlier today, it seemed that he felt more justified in feeling as he did.

But, she was with Kanaan, they were just colleagues, and it wasn't going to happen.

He needed to deal with that.

Except now, they were sitting side by side on a bench, alone, in what had to be one of the most romantic settings he had ever been in. He couldn't have dreamt up a better place to take a woman. Not only was it beautiful here, it was warm out of the wind, there was a literally perfect sunset, an amazing beach and ocean view, and apparent complete solitude.

It was just plain torture.

He watched her line up the camera down towards the beach, her fingers outlining the camera with expert care. She was talking about the resort and the cove they had just left, filling the silence between them, which he knew was all because of him.

He couldn't help it though. He felt too uncomfortable, too aware of her, too annoyed with his wayward thoughts and the way his pants weren't fitting quite as well after following her up those steps.

He looked away from her, peering out slightly to look down at where Salisbury had the best view and comfort that money could buy him on the beach. He bet Salisbury was enjoying himself.

"Do you think we should leave before they do?" Teyla asked next, and he forced himself to reply as normally as possible. They had been getting on well enough all day, and he wanted that ease back again with a passion. Though perhaps 'passion' wasn't the best word right now.

"We'll have enough time to get back to our side as soon as they start back up here," he replied.

Teyla twisted in her seat next to him, her arm brushing against his slightly as she did so. She looked up at the mountainside towering up high above them. "I am glad we did not have to trek all the way up the mountainside."

John forced himself not to look at the fabric outlined dip of her cleavage turned towards him as she studied the view above their bench. Instead, he looked up at the green-coated rock along with her. "We've climbed higher," he lied with a forced smile.

She looked back to him and smiled. He kept smiling back, and then looked away quickly before he embarrassed them both by peering down at her cleavage again.

He focused down on the Salisburys below.

"They may walk to the settlement once the sun has set," Teyla considered.

"Maybe," John replied as he glanced at his watch and back to the glorious sunset.

Silence stretched out, but it was changing now into the quiet reverence a great sunset always seem to create.

The sun was a ball of golden yellow now, the sky a spectacular mix of colours stretching out through orange, red, to deep purples and then deep darkening blue across the ocean as the sun lowered further.

"On Athos, there were few places where we could watch the sun set all the way down to the horizon," Teyla said in a hushed voice. John glanced at her beside him. She was sat leant slightly forward, captivated by the vista. "There was too much forest for such a view as this."

John recalled his limited memories of Old Athos. It had been mostly low land between high hills and plenty of forest, at least from what he had seen.

"You said you moved the camp a lot," he asked in an equally soft voice.

She nodded, glancing at him only briefly before returning her gaze to the sun. "Yes, but never in such open land as this. The forest was our protection from the darts, but, as you know, once it was dark, even the trees were dangerous to wander through."

John nodded as he watched her expression closely. He couldn't see remorse or anything else too painful to see there, and instead he thought that her tone was more of regret for the life her people had had to live. Were still living back in Pegasus – without her.

He looked away to the sunset himself. There were times when he wondered why she didn't hate his own people, and him in particular. Since they had arrived on Old Athos, it seemed that the Athosian's lives had gone from bad to worse.

He had asked her once or twice, in moments of relaxed privacy when the moment had felt right, if she did hate them a little, or resent them at least. She had assured him that she didn't. She had a very healthy view of life, but then she had grown up thinking it would be unlikely she would live to middle age, let alone older. In fact, thinking about it, if Atlantis hadn't turned up in her life, she might not have lived this long on Old Athos. She was never one to be the first to hide, she would always see her people to safety first in a culling, he was certain. That would have put her at the greatest risk though. That time she had been swept up by a dart on Old Athos had been because she had been shoving him aside to safety.

The thought of what might have happened to her in another life was a painful, horrible thought, but he found himself dwelling on it now. Maybe it was an excuse to feel better about having turned up in her and her people's lives, or maybe it was because of the vision of a possible other reality.

At least here, on Earth, she was alive and as safe as she could be. She had Torren, and yes even Kanaan. John could be happy for her for that. He thanked the heavens for it really, because, despite his own selfish desires, there was nothing he wanted more than those he cared for to be safe and happy. At least here she was free to live her life without the promise of an early death at the hands of a Wraith.

For that, he would willingly go through all kinds of torture for her.

It didn't matter what they had seen in those visions. It really didn't in this moment. For now, they were both safe, both still friends and he was determined to keep that going. Whatever it took.

"They'll be okay, your people," he told her.

She looked round at him, the sunlight almost gone. "I hope so."

He held her gaze, hating the pained worry he saw in her eyes. "They will be. They're survivors. Like you."

She smiled at that, one of her soft smiles. Her wide dark eyes seeming to sparkle in the fading light as she nodded slightly.

"As we both are," she amended.

He accepted her assessment with a nod, more for her sake than his. He didn't think his life compared to the one she had lived growing up on Athos, but he acknowledged her amendment. They had fought beside each other too long for him to brush off her point.

She smiled again, holding his gaze for a beat longer than he expected, before she looked away back to the sunset. He looked at it too.

In more comfortable silence now, they watched the ball of fire that was Earth's single sun, finally disappear out of view. They stayed on the bench until the last of the light disappeared, leaving them in darkness, lit now only by the artificial light from Kaua'i and the sparkle of stars overhead.

In the darkness, John peered down to the beach below, to see that Salisbury, cast in glowing lamp light, was standing up.

"They're on the move again," he reported quietly to Teyla.

They watched long enough to be sure that their targets were going to head up the path towards them.

"Let's get going," John decided, though Teyla was already standing up with him.

The path back around the headland was dark, but there was enough light from the larger bay to see where they were walking. This time John walked first, looking back cautiously to check Teyla was close behind him. She was only in sandals and he didn't want her to lose her footing. They made it back round to the steep steps down to their resort's cove in no time, and it was so much nicer going down the steps than up. He didn't have as good a view as before, but he felt better about it all now.

Almost to the bottom of the steps, he paused and watched Teyla negotiate the two steps above him. In her sandals and long dress, one hand holding onto the railing, she was stepping carefully.

"Not the best outfit for sparring," he couldn't help but comment.

She sent him a brief smile as she took the next step down. "If such a need arose, it would be necessary to tear away some fabric I think."

An interesting idea.

"Would be a shame to ruin such a nice dress," he found himself saying. He heard the flirtatiousness in his voice, and realised that it was probably the first time in a week he had said something like that to her.

She reached the last step alongside him and smiled up at him. He got the feeling that she was both surprised and pleased at his impromptu compliment. "Mattie has good taste in clothing," she replied. "I will be sure to ask her if I can keep the clothes after this vacation is over."

Yes, because it was the dress that was the important part of why she looked so good! He didn't point out the truth to her though.

"I doubt they'll want the clothes back," he assured her as he took the last step down to the beach, and reached up to support her elbow down the last and largest step. She probably didn't need his help, but he did it anyway, without thinking, and she made no comment as he cupped her warm elbow in his palm and she let him support some of her weight as she stepped down beside him onto the sand.

"Perhaps next time we are needed for such a mission, we should bring Torren, then he too will have a new wardrobe," she commented as her hand slipped back around his elbow without prompting.

He grinned at her joke. "Not sure we could pass him off as a Collingwood baby," he said as they made their way back along the now dark beach, following their previous footprints back along the sand.

She chuckled gently. "Perhaps we had him in secret before we were married," she suggested.

John looked down at her, almost certain there had been an edge of flirtation in her voice.

"You were pretty big when you were pregnant, not sure we could have hidden that," he teased her.

She gave him a narrowed eyed glare that he could just make out in the darkness. "I was not _that_ big," she protested, but he could tell that she wasn't upset with his comment; she was playing along with the game. He felt a heady rush of relief and happiness that they were getting on again, that things felt easier between them again.

"I don't know, poor Ronon had to squeeze past you that time on the Jumper," he exaggerated.

"He had plenty of room, you were both merely teasing me," she replied. Her hand felt more secure around his arm this time back across the beach, like she felt more comfortable touching him now. He was certain he could feel more of her body heat close to his side too, though maybe it was just because it the air was cooler now.

"Sure," he replied, making it sound like he was saying it to pacify her. "Whatever."

She nudged her body against his again, as she had done before. Liking the more confident physical way she pushed him this time, he grinned down at her.

"I was _not_ that big," she insisted again.

He just looked straight ahead and smiled. "Yes, Dear."

0000  
On to Chapter 5...


	5. Sleeping Arrangements

**CHAPTER FIVE – SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS**

Their villa was entirely dark as they crossed the quiet empty road towards it. The breeze, cooler now, but still warm, was still dancing through the tall palm trees behind them as they padded quietly up the path to their front door.

As they had made their way back along the beach, they had noted the Salisburys and their guests had indeed been retracing their steps far behind them. She and John would be back inside and ready to observe them returning to their villas, however it seemed that this evening's outing for Salisbury had been an innocent event.

John opened the villa's front door and reached inside to activate the interior lights. The light glowed out through the villas many windows, sending rectangles of light across their car and the small lawn she was passing.

"You hungry?" John asked as he led the way inside, holding the door open for her.

"I think I will have a hot drink," Teyla considered as she shut the front door and then moved through the lobby space of the villa, back through to the open plan space of the living area. From here the wide spread of windows allowed them an excellent view of the beach and road outside. The Salisburys would be returning very soon.

"You want that herbal tea you bought in the airport?" John asked from the large kitchen space behind her.

She turned round to see him preparing the kettle. She had not realised he recalled the tea she had purchased herself before their flight. "I will make it," she offered.

"I need a coffee anyway," he replied as he set the kettle on the stove. "You keep an eye out."

Surprised by his offer, but appreciating it, she slipped off her sandals and padded across the soft carpet in the living room to settle down on the large couch. "Did our walk tire you out?" She teased as she activated the television, for appearances from the road.

"Gotta keep sharp," John replied, presumably referring to their mission, though his voice was slightly muffled.

She looked round to see that he had the fridge door open and was contemplating what was stocked inside.

"You want something to eat?" He asked as he poking around one fridge shelf. It was a surprisingly domestic picture of him that made her smile.

"Is there still some of that chocolate dip from before?" She asked, the temptation of the luxury spread she had tried earlier niggling at her though she was not all that hungry.

John turned and held up the small pot, and smiled at her in what could only be termed as a tempting way. "You want to finish it off?"

She thought about it for a second.

"You're on vacation," John told her as he set the pot on the worktop, deciding for her that she would eat it, and he began digging through another fridge shelf. "There's still some of that salsa dip too."

Teyla turned her attention back to the front windows, John's late night food raid too distracting. She watched the darkened trees sway gently across the road, and the tiniest hint of the cove's small waves entering the bay. It was so wonderfully relaxing.

The kettle boiled in the background, and though tempted to go assist John in preparing their late drinks and snacks, she remained at her post. The scent of coffee and herbal tea filled the air and she looked round as John approached, setting her large mug down in front of her on the coffee table, and his coffee on the next mat over.

She thanked him as she leant forward and inhaled the scent of her new tea.

"Nothing yet, huh?" John asked as he looked out the front before turning back to the kitchen.

"No, perhaps they walked on further," Teyla considered as she watched the small stretch of beach visible outside.

"Maybe," John considered. He had set the camera on the coffee table, and Teyla reached for it, moving it closer in case it would be needed to take a quick picture of someone new. "Maybe we should have stayed out there longer," he suggested.

"Their walk seemed innocent enough, besides it is unlikely that he would meet up with a contact in the middle of the beach with his wife and friends, is it not?"

"True," John replied, his voice moving closer, and she looked round to him to see the chocolate spread, with some sweet biscuits, set on a plate for her. "Here you go," he said with a knowing smile, for some reason taking delight in her enjoyment of the chocolate spread from earlier.

"You are not having some?" She asked as she noted the single knife and that he was walking back to the kitchen.

"It's all yours," he replied with a knowing smile over his shoulder.

She smiled as she spread some of the chocolate over a biscuit, and returned her attention to the windows. She saw movement in the shadows, that quickly formed into the two couples returning as expected.

"They are returning," she called to John, making sure to lower her attention to her food, for the couples would be able to see her through the front windows. "Just the four of them."

"We should work out which villa the Texans are in," John noted as he sat down on the couch next to her. He had a slice of a fruit pie that had been left for them in the fridge. He angled his head around her to look outside. "They're crossing the road."

Teyla nodded as she spread some more chocolate and casually looked outside as well. The couple were stood in the middle of the empty road, looking as if they were parting company, and soon enough they split apart. The Salisburys walking the short distance to their villa next door.

John twisted in his seat to look over his left shoulder, where one side window overlooked the Salisbury's villa entrance. "No one waiting for them," he reported around a mouthful of pie.

Teyla angled her body closer to him to see out that side window as well, and saw the Salisburys disappear inside. Rectangles of light cast across their large front lawn, but there were no windows in the side of their building.

"Do we need to keep a watch on their villa all night?" She considered.

"O'Neill said to keep it "casual observation"," John replied using his fingers to mimic speech marks as he settled back comfortably on the couch.

"That is good," Teyla considered as she settled more comfortably herself, feeling more relaxed now their targets had returned inside. "I suspect I will sleep very well tonight." She lifted another chocolate loaded biscuit and enjoyed the gloriously sweet taste on her tongue.

"It's the tropical sea air," John replied around more pie, as he reached forward and picked up the television's remote she had left on the table. "And your first case of jet lag."

"I believe I experienced enough of that on some of our long voyages in the Jumper. We have had to travel up to fifteen hours before."

"True, but this time there really were some crying babies on the plane, not just Rodney and Radek arguing," he noted as he set his empty plate on the coffee table and triggered the remote. "You sure you don't want some pie?" He offered.

Surprised again by his continuing offer of food and drink, she smiled and shook her head. "This is more than enough, thank you." She scrapped the last of the chocolate spread out of the tiny pot and made it cover the whole of the final biscuit as best she could. She hadn't missed John's amused glances at her work.

"You know there's some popcorn in one of the cupboards," he told her as she feasted on the last of her biscuit.

She looked round with interest. "Really? Perhaps tomorrow," she considered. "It is getting late."

John nodded, glancing back round to check the neighbouring villa once more. "A couple of hours should be okay to be sure Salisbury doesn't have some late visitors."

Teyla nodded her agreement and set her plate and knife down on the table, picked up her tea and settled back in her seat, her shoulder faintly touching John's. However, she felt only comfort by his close presence now. Despite her earlier disquiet, when walking back here with him he had seemed more his usual self, making jokes and teasing her. This ease and friendship was worth any difficulty and occasional discomfort. She was pleased now that they had been asked to come on this mission together, for it meant that they really were working through things - perhaps not out loud, but sitting with him now, she knew they had not been this relaxed with each other for over a week. She could be happy with that outcome.

The next two hours passed easily, through which they watched some television, enjoying a game show in particular. She had not known most of the answers to the trivia questions, but the observation and calculation ones she was able to answer. John suggested that a regular general knowledge quiz in Atlantis would be a good idea. They then found some sports to watch again, which John took great interest in explaining to her. Thoroughly and with more excitement than he usually showed.

"And tomorrow you get to watch some golf," he added to tease as he glanced round to the side window again. There had been no movement next door and the lights had shut off over an hour ago. The Salisburys were likely fast asleep by now.

"At least I will not be playing it," she remarked as she stretched out her back. "They seem to be asleep next door," she commented. With the main lights now turned off in their own villa, the lower lamp light was emphasising the tiredness that had been creeping up on her for the last hour.

"Yeah," John agreed, though his tone almost seemed disappointed.

She smiled at him as she sat up from her seat and reached for their mugs and plates. "We'll have plenty of chances to catch them on this vacation," she assured him as she stood up. He pulled his knees aside so she could move past him between the couch and the coffee table. Her legs brushed against his as she did, and she reflected how good it was that they seemed more comfortable with each other again.

"Maybe if we catch Salisbury in the act, O'Neill will let us all have a proper vacation here." John replied as he flipped through to another channel.

There was a machine to wash their dishes in the kitchen, but since she and John had used very little, she filled the sink with hot water and some cleaning liquid. From where she stood at the sink, she had a full view of the living space and the windows. She noted the darkness of the Salisbury's villa remained steady.

"Carson was talking about a salmon fishing trip," she mentioned as she cleaned the mugs and plates, rinsing them off and setting them on the draining area to dry naturally overnight. She quite liked experiencing an Earth living situation, the tiny differences apparent to her, but still all familiar enough.

"Rodney said we should move the city off the coast of Canada," John commented as he shut off the television and walked towards her, the camera in his hand as he scanned through the pictures on the back screen.

"I think that unlikely from what you have told me of the ongoing politics," she replied as she wiped down the worktop and drained the sink. She dried off her hands and left the kitchen area.

A new faint discontent was beginning to disturb her relaxation now though – there had only been one bed upstairs. She would be willing to share it with John, but she was aware that it would no doubt provoke the 'future' memories for sure. Yet, she was determined to be as casual and relaxed about it as possible.

"I think I shall turn in now, it is quite late," she remarked as she picked up her discarded shawl, smiled at John, and walked towards the stairs. "What time should we get up tomorrow?"

"I'm not due at the golf course till after lunch, so we get the chance to lie in for the morning," he replied from the lobby behind her. "Besides, we're supposed to be…you know, on honeymoon," he added.

She paused on the stairs to look back down at him and smile. "Of course, that would make sense," she admitted, making sure she appeared relaxed about talking on this issue. It was a fake marriage, no need to dwell on the fact that the other holidaymakers would expect her and John to spend the majority of their time alone together inside. In bed.

John smiled up at her very briefly as he secured the lock on the front door, though she suspected there was little crime in this area.

She turned away and continued up the staircase, then across the small landing to the only bedroom. She quickly set about gathering her nightclothes and went into the only bathroom to change out of her dress. She had a quick shower to wash away the day's long travel, keeping her hair pinned up on top of her hair to keep it dry. Dried off, she slipped into her nightclothes and contemplated her appearance in the mirror over the large elegantly designed sink and side units. She had brought her favourite blue sleeping outfit, which was light enough in the warmer weather, and it reminded her of home and her own bed. She missed Torren with a rush of emotion at that thought though, so turned her attention to gathering her things. John would want to use the bathroom.

She opened the door and walked barefooted into the bedroom. There was no sign of John, but as she hung her dress away, she noted that the lights were on in the next room across the landing. It was a study, from what she had seen. Was John planning to sleep in there? She could not recall seeing a bed in there.

She trod across the soft carpet to the open door and looked across the landing to see that the study's door was partly closed, but through the small open space she could see the lamp was on inside and John's bag was on the floor just inside. The stairs and ground floor were dark.

"John?" She called, "I have finished using the bathroom."

The study door pulled opened completely to reveal John stood with his wash bag in his hand. He had changed his clothes for bed as well. He wore a black t-shirt with a white logo, which she could not identify, across it, and comfortable soft looking black trousers.

He was also barefoot.

"I'm gonna need to borrow some pillows if I can," he asked, as if the pillows were hers to judge where they should be.

She moved to the study doorway and looked inside. There was a small couch in here. "You plan to sleep on that?" She asked.

"Sure, I've slept on plenty of couches before," he replied. He had said it offhandedly, but she suspected he too was warring with certain memories of sharing a bed.

She understood the need he might have to sleep away from her, she shared it to a certain degree – only why was she feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Is it not too small for you to sleep on comfortably?" She asked carefully, for it was a real concern. He was a tall man with long legs, surely he would barely be able to stretch out on that couch.

"Don't think it would look good if I slept on one of the larger couches downstairs," he replied with a slightly forced laugh in his voice. "Not really the image of a happy newly wed couple we want."

She understood his point, but still the couch was far too small for him.

"I will sleep in here," she decided. "I can easily fit comfortably on the couch."

"No, you have the bed, I'll be fine," he replied.

"It is more logical for me to sleep in here," she pushed.

"Teyla, you're not sleeping on a couch," he argued, seeming almost annoyed at her suggestion.

"But it is alright for _you_ too?"

"Exactly," he replied as if she had agreed with him.

"John-" she began, not understanding his point. Perhaps it would be better if they just shared the bed, only that suggestion might ruin much of the returned ease between them.

"Teyla," he interrupted her before she could decide what was best to say. "Look it's an Earth thing."

She narrowed her eyes at his explanation. "Are you sure it is not a 'John' thing?" She asked suspicious that he simply wanted her to be the more comfortable one.

He looked away to the couch and then back to her. "It's a guy thing then. On Earth, the woman always gets the bed."

She opened her mouth to point out the holes in the argument, but then wondered if it really was part of his culture to give her the bed. Surely that did not make sense though when he was in need of more sleeping space.

However, she did not get to make her argument again, because he was moving towards her. "I'll get some pillows from the bed. I'll be fine," he insisted as he reached her and turned to slide past her through the study's doorway in which she stood. "I've slept in worse places," he added as he brushed against her as he began to leave the study.

She looked up at him as he slid past her, the scent of him suddenly stronger. He seemed different in his bedclothes, more male and…familiar she realised. He had been dressed similarly in her future vision. She recalled the warm soft t-shirt he had been wearing, and how it had felt under her fingers. Suddenly the sleeping situation and stood together in their nightclothes, made the intimacy and awkwardness of it all the more apparent. Only, she refused to let it win over them again, to ruin all the good the day together had won for their friendship.

She looked away to the couch and stepped further away from him to let him pass by her more easily. "Of course," she conceded.

"I'll just use the bathroom," he added as he moved away slowly across the landing, seeming to be making an effort not to appear awkward himself.

"I will see if I can find you a blanket somewhere," she offered.

"Thanks," he replied as he entered the bedroom and headed towards their only bathroom.

For some reason, her attention dropped to his bare feet again as he moved away across the deep carpet. She could not recall seeing him barefoot before, except for when he had been in the Infirmary. Seeing his strong bare feet now, for some reason, seemed to emphasise the intimacy of sharing living space with him.

Why did even his feet have to be so attractive?

0000

The bathroom smelt of her, of girly flowery scents that mixed with the steamy atmosphere from her shower to create another kind of torture for him.

God, he really just wanted to share the bed with her. It was a temptation that prowled around the edge of his self-control. He was almost certain she had been about to suggest it anyway, because she had been too worried about him being comfortable.

If she only knew how much more uncomfortable he would be lying next to her in bed, desperately willing away the memories and ideas of what could happen if they accidently woke up tucked up together in the middle of the bed in the night. He didn't trust himself to behave if that happened.

As he had walked through the bedroom to the bathroom, it had occurred to him for a split second that maybe what they had seen as their future, could be here, in the middle of the night sharing a bed. Only a quick reminder of the layout of the only bedroom and its windows, confirmed that it didn't match the vision. Plus he remembered that she had looked slightly older in what he had seen. It had been a stupid, ridiculous moment of hope.

He contemplated his beard growth in the mirror and decided he would have to shave in the morning. Got to look the part of Charlie Collingwood tomorrow on the golf course. He tried to focus on that as he washed, brushed his teeth, and ignored the girly sweet smells lingering around him. He also tried not to study the small array of her toiletries set around the sink. There were small pots without labels, which he guessed were Athosian things. Allowing himself one moment of temptation, he picked one up, one that seemed damp, and opened the lid. A soft clay like substance was inside, that smelt of the same flowers and spice in the air. He put the lid back on and put the pot back in its place, and he hated himself a little for it. Sniffing her shower products! What was he coming to?

He hung up his towel, making sure it was straight and presentable, and paused for a moment to gather himself together before he opened the door and faced Teyla in her sweet little pyjama setup again.

There was just a single lamp on in the wide bedroom, and she was, of course, in bed. She had propped herself up on some pillows and had a book in her hand. She smiled at him as he appeared.

Did she have to be sat on only one side of the bed? Because it made the empty tempting space to her left all the more inviting. The pillows were missing on that side, so she must have put them in the study for him already.

"Night," he said to her, almost a little too loudly.

"Sleep well, John," she replied with a wide smile.

"You too," he replied as he made his way as quickly, but casually, as possible to the bedroom door.

"Leave the door open," she said as he began to pull the bedroom door closed behind him. "If you need to use the bathroom in the night, just come in, I do not mind."

He hadn't even thought about that. "I'll leave it open a bit," he offered as a compromise as he pulled the door part way to. "See you in the morning," he added.

If she said anything back, he didn't hear it because he quickly strode across the landing and into the study. He shut the door lightly behind him, and let out a breath.

Teyla had made up the couch for him. The two pillows were at one end and a patterned blanket spread out for him. He appreciated the effort.

Only, as he settled on the couch, he couldn't ignore the fact that she had been right – the couch was too small for him. He had enough width for his shoulders, but he had to prop his lower legs up on the far armrest. At least it was a deeply cushioned couch.

He spread the blanket over him, wishing it was longer to cover from his feet up to his chin, but it only reached mid chest. He reached out and turned off the lamp, plunging the study into near complete darkness. He adjusted the blanket again and laid still.

Faint light was making it in under the study's door, telling him that she was still reading. He pulled his thoughts away from the lovely big bed she was in, all comfortable and with ample room. She had practically been about to let him share it with her, for innocent reasons, and he didn't need to think about that.

He turned onto his left side, facing the back of the couch, readjusted his blanket and closed his eyes.

His t-shirt smelt faintly of flowers and spice. Traitorous clothing.

Traitorous blood that felt too hot and distracted.

Stupid O'Neill and his torturous vacation/missions of a lifetime.

00000  
TBC


	6. Golf

**Part**: 6/11

0000

**CHAPTER SIX - GOLF**

Teyla opened her eyes to sunlight and the soft distant sound of music. The sunlight was pouring gently through the closed doors out to the balcony, and its surprising brightness suggested that she had awoken much later than expected.

She pushed herself up from the deep excessively comfortable mattress and brushed her hair out of her face. Her body felt heavy and still half-asleep. She had not slept so deeply in a very long time.

Looking around with her sleep-fogged mind, it took a minute to process that the numbers on the round face of a clock sitting on the bedside table represented the time. She had slept for nine hours straight, and she had no recollection of even stirring in the night. It would only be a couple of hours till lunch!

Lifting the warm soft covers aside, she slid her legs over the side of the bed and took a moment to try to force some more alertness to her sleep heavy thoughts. The bedroom door was only slightly ajar, far less than last night, and through it, she could hear the gentle music drifting up from downstairs. John must have been awake for hours.

She pushed herself up from the bed and, stretching her thoroughly relaxed body, she slowly made her way into bathroom. Immediately she could tell that John had used the bathroom earlier for there was the faint scent of his cologne and a shaver and toothbrush drying beside the sink.

She washed her face and then her hair, the water wakening her entirely and a deep hunger grumbled in her belly. Feeling very rested but missing Torren quite deeply, she towel dried her hair and returned to the bedroom. They would be attending the golf course in only a few hours, so she would need to wear something appropriate for the image of Freya Collingwood.

She decided on a knee length very tailored dress that seemed both relaxed yet smart. It had a lovely patterned design over it and its neckline secured up behind her neck with two long straps. She settled the smooth expensive seeming material over her hips and wondered how Mattie had been so accurate with her size. Running her hands through her drying hair, she slipped on some sandals, and then made her way out of the bedroom.

Tinkling jazzy music with a deep soulful female voice filled the beautiful open plan ground floor. Teyla was once again struck how lovely it was here, and the view through the front windows seemed even brighter than yesterday. It was also notably warmer even inside today.

"Mornin'," John greeted her from the kitchen area where he was sat at the breakfast counter, a paper spread out in front of him and a mug of coffee in his hand.

She smiled at him as she approached. He looked very rested as well. "Good morning, have you been up very long?" She asked as she headed for the main kitchen area.

"Only a few hours," he replied with a teasing smile as he drank his coffee. He was wearing a cream coloured shirt, open quite low at the front again, and he seemed even more handsome than normal as he smiled at her. "Slept well I take it?" He asked as he set his mug down.

She gave him a slight wince. "I should have set an alarm," she considered as she retrieved the loaf of bread they had started yesterday.

"You're on vacation, Teyla," he replied. "It's part of the whole experience. Bet it's been a long time since Torren let you sleep all the way through a night."

"True," she agreed, though still feeling a little indulgent to have overslept while John had been down here watching the next villa. As she set two slices of bread to toast, she glanced towards the side window that overlooked next door. "Are the Salisburys up yet?"

"He went out about six this morning, came back with some groceries," John replied. "Mrs Salisbury walked down to the beach for a bit, then they went for a late breakfast at the entertainment area."

Teyla felt a twinge of regret to think that John had been up so much longer than her, working as she should have been.

"I walked down there too, talked to the barman about the golf course. They didn't meet up with anyone other than a few other guests staying in the next villas along," John continued.

"You should have woken me, John," she said, though truthfully somewhat appreciative that he hadn't. It had been very thoughtful of him.

"I left you a note in case you woke when I was out," he replied, gesturing to the breakfast bar where he likely had left the note.

She smiled at him, "I meant that you have been busy working and I have been unhelpfully sleeping."

He picked up his newspaper and lowered his attention to it. "You needed the sleep," he concluded. "You can get up early tomorrow and I'll have the lie in," he suggested with a joking smile.

She wondered whether part of the reason he had woken so early had been the far too small couch he had slept on, but she said nothing, concerned that, as last night, he might take offence again. She turned her attention to her now ready toast.

"I emailed 'Jack'," John told her as she opened several cupboards to find the jars of jam she remembered seeing yesterday. "Sent him a couple of our 'vacation pics'."

She located the jams and smiled over her shoulder at John's pointed phrasing.

"He'll look into who our Texans are," John concluded. "Though Jazzy the barman told me that apparently they stay in the same villa at least once a month."

She poured herself some juice from the fridge and carried her breakfast to the seat next to John at the breakfast bar. "Is that not very frequent for a vacation?" She asked as she slid onto the high stool next to him.

"I'm thinking they've got the money for it," John replied.

"Maybe they have a stake in the resort like Mr Salisbury," Teyla considered as she spread raspberry jam over a slice of toast.

"Maybe," John considered. "Jack will find out," he added with amusement, clearly enjoying the chance to use the General's name. She suspected he would love to slip it into conversation with the General, but it likely would not be appropriate with a superior, even with General O'Neill.

"Where are the Salisburys now?" She asked as she lifted the tempting piece of toast.

"They're inside still," John replied, looking past her to the window. "Think he's got the tee time before me, so they'll be heading out to the course in the next two hours."

She noted that the shirt John was wearing was of a slightly different design than he normally wore. The sleeves were far shorter than normal for him, the buttons at the front stopped mid way down his chest, and there was a small logo on one side of his chest. She also realised that the blue trousers she had thought he was wearing, were in fact shorts that stopped at his knees. She had not seen him wearing shorts before. She made a show of looking at his outfit and gave him a pointed look.

"Is this golfing attire?" She asked teasingly, though he looked as good as ever. She noted that he had nice lean strong calves.

He looked down at his outfit with a slightly self-conscious wince. "Charlie Collingwood's golfing attire apparently."

"I have not seen you wear shorts before," she could not help but tease. He was so often the first to tease his friends.

"It's hot out," he replied defensively as he lifted his chin a little too high as he read the paper.

She grinned at him as she returned her attention to her breakfast. "It does look brighter out there."

"Should be a nice day, but they're predicting rain tomorrow," he reported, seeming to jump at the chance to get away from the subject of his clothing.

"Then today is possibly your only chance to wear shorts then," she found herself commenting with a smile.

He glanced at her with a slightly surprised glare. "At least I'll be having fun on the golf course, you'll be stuck at the clubhouse the whole time with Mrs Salisbury."

She lost some of her amusement at that. "That is if she accompanies Mr Salisbury to the course."

"The file said she always does," John replied, clearing enjoying the fact that Teyla was going to have to lose hours in the golf clubhouse waiting for him, whilst seeing if she could find a chance to strike up some conversation with Mrs Salisbury.

It was her turn to glare at him now, but he smiled and turned his victorious look to his paper.

They sat in easy companionship through her breakfast, after which they went for a walk across the road to the beach. They wandered to the right along the beach this time, and found that from the beach there was a small, but useful, direct view straight into the front of the Salisbury's villa. They walked on though for now, the sun warm overhead, but the near constant breeze off the ocean kept them cool. She asked John some questions about golf, feeling that there was a need for the knowledge now, at least as it related to how she should behave when at the clubhouse. John seemed quite excited about playing the golf course, which he described as one of the best. She had not seen him look forward to something with such desire before and she took the opportunity to ask him about his history with the game. He told her that his father had played and that he and his brother had learnt at an early age. It appeared that he had spent quite some time playing the game with his brother whilst their father had worked close by. It seemed that golf was a game that enabled business conversation and ties to be formed whilst playing, which might explain why Mr Salisbury played so much of it.

After their walk, they sat at a table in the entertainment area and John had some lunch. She would eat something at the clubhouse, so she sat beside him and enjoyed watching the ocean and the people moving past. There were more around the pool today due to the warmer air, but she was already recognising faces. It seemed that others did too, for many nodded to her and John with a smile. Teresa arrived towards the end of John's meal and Teyla watched her move through the tables. She knew everyone by name and was smiling and seeing to everyone's needs. As she approached John and Teyla's table, her smile brightened just a fraction.

"Aloha, Mr and Mrs Collingwood. Are you enjoying your stay so far?" She asked in that same overly exuberant way.

"It's great, thanks," John replied, and in his expression and tone Teyla could hear that he was slightly uncomfortable now he was aware of Teresa's attraction to him.

"_We_ have a lovely first night's sleep," Teyla decided to reply, looking up at Teresa with a smile with a touch of warning in it. "Thank you."

Teresa smiled back, but there was suddenly a touch of self-conscious in it, and Teyla knew that her silent 'back off' message had been received. "That is good to hear. I understand as well that you will be heading up to the golf course soon. I hope you enjoy yourselves." Teyla hadn't missed the plural nature of that comment; Teresa had most definitely received the message and understood.

"Thanks," John replied to her as he set his cutlery on his now empty plate.

Teresa retreated to another table, her full power smile back in place, and John sat back in his seat next to Teyla's, his arm sliding along the back of her chair as last time.

"I feel like I missed some of that conversation," he asked in a lowered voice, his head turned towards her.

Teyla smiled at him. "Do not worry yourself, Snookums," she told him.

His eyebrows rose, but he smiled as he reached for the last of his drink. "Okay, Sweetheart," he replied in retaliation.

She smiled at the endearment, far nicer than 'Dear', but it was wrong that a small part of her felt elated at hearing it. It was not really meant, it was just pretend – they were playing roles as they sat together and watched the ocean and people around them, John's arm a growingly familiar warmth along the back of her chair.

John checked his watch again, the third time in only a five minutes – he was excited about his approaching golf game.

A minute or so later, John checked his watch again and then sat forward, his arm sliding out from behind her. "It's almost golf time," he goaded her as he stood up, but she had to smile at his enjoyment.

They moved through the busy tables, John waiting until she moved through the tight spaces first. His hand briefly lingered lightly against her back, a display for their audience, until they were free and wandered towards the road. She kept close to his side, as would be appropriate for newlyweds, and she considered whether they should hold hands, as Mattie had suggested. But, by the time she warred with the idea, the thrill of doing so battling against not wanting to make John uncomfortable, they were out of sight of the others.

They returned to the villa to collect a few things and then climbed into the car. It was overly warm inside, so they ran down the windows, which allowed the air to rush in as John expertly manoeuvred the car along the roads to their destination. A couple of times she consulted the map for him, to be sure they were headed in the right direction, but soon enough signs appeared for the golf course. Her first sight of the rolling sculpted landscape made her wish that she could accompany John on the game's route. As John drove up the long sloping entrance driveway, the clubhouse came into view and she felt an edge of nervousness as she saw the impressive glass fronted large building. Inside, she would be out of her comfort zone, alone whilst John played his golf. She was not uncomfortable being by herself, but this was unknown territory which seemed very exclusive and alien to her as she and John entered the wide open entrance. Two smartly dressed men greeted them with lovely bright smiles, directing John to where he would need to go.

She had visited many worlds and led negotiations that many would find difficult, and as such she understood the forced sense exclusivity here. This was a place built for those with a finely directed passion on this game of golf, and she felt acutely out of her depth.

"I've got to go this way," John interrupted her cautious thoughts as they paused inside the building. She looked up at him with a smile, making sure to conceal her discontent.

"Where do you think I will locate _our friend_?" She asked.

"She could be in the shop, or probably in the restaurant," he considered. "You going to be okay here?" He asked and she looked up to see concern around his eyes.

"Of course," she replied immediately, pulling herself slightly taller. She had negotiated with the Pediarians – she could do this. "I will be fine. Enjoy your game."

John nodded slowly, but she saw that he was not entirely convinced by her answer. His gaze held hers for longer than normal, assessing her in a way that was suddenly surprisingly insightful and she felt a mixture of vulnerability and pleasure to be such a focus of his attention. She blinked and glanced away to the open lobby around them to break the moment.

"I will be fine, J-Charlie," she corrected quickly. "Honestly, enjoy yourself." She laid her hand on his bare arm and smiled back up at him.

"Okay," he replied, seeming convinced, or was he too putting on a show for her? It was becoming a little confusing all this overlying emotions and readings of each other lately. "If you need me, I'll have my cell on me."

She nodded and squeezed his forearm before dropping her hand. "Very well."

He nodded and smiled, and then there was a strange moment where he looked at her cheek and then smiled again and moved away. She realised only a second afterwards that he had likely thought about kissing her cheek, as she saw people do frequently on Earth. A husband would likely kiss his wife goodbye. Regret that he had not and that she had been unaware until now of his thought, made her feel more uncomfortable as she watched John walk away, leaving her alone in the clubhouse for the next few hours.

He glanced over his shoulder at her before he disappeared from view, and she made sure to smile brightly at him. Then he was gone.

She turned away to take in the austere yet elegant décor of the inside of the clubhouse. There were people moving around her, but not too many, which continued to give the impression of an empty unknown environment for her.

She frowned at herself and focused her thoughts. This was a mission, and it was nice enough here, she could easily fill the next hours. She had fared far worse than this.

The clubhouse displayed very clear directions to the different facilities inside, which meant that she was easily able to wander around the public areas to assess the building in its entirety, getting a feel for the exits and the expanse of space it occupied. Windows filled almost all the outer wall space, providing an amazing view out across the golf course. She stood for some time at one window, watching small motorised carts being driven out in small groups to the starting point. John had explained many golfing terms, but many of them she had not entirely understood. She knew there were hazards along the way to the goal of the green, and then one putted the ball into the hole. She knew there was skill to the game, but it did not entirely enthuse her.

She then wandered through the clubhouse's pro shop with its varied selection of golfing supplies and outfits. She considered the gift items and decided to mention some of them to John as gifts for those back home. General O'Neill apparently was a fan of golf himself, so perhaps one of the humorous mugs would be a good gift.

Having seen no sign of Mrs Annette Salisbury so far, she turned her attention to finding the main restaurant, where the woman was most likely located.

As with the rest of the building, the restaurant looked out across the golf course, but from up here there was a particularly good view. The tables and booths here were designed in dark wood and leather and the bar looked very extensively stocked. There were a few people here already, mostly sitting in small groups, and the majority were dressed in golfing attire. Most were men, which did not surprise her, and she found many looking her way. She smiled in strained politeness at the attention, but it seemed nothing but curious interest. However, one particular woman caught Teyla's interest.

Mrs Salisbury was seated by herself at a table in the far corner of the restaurant, which afforded the very best view to the golf course beyond. Two walls full of windows met at the corner where she sat, but Mrs Salisbury's attention was focused on her cell phone and she appeared quite bored.

Teyla was not sure if she needed to request a table, but she decided just to make her way across the room, in the belief that Freya Collingwood would be the type of woman to stride to a table she wanted. She selected the table next to Mrs Salisbury, but not too close, and she sat down at a right angle to the woman, which faced out upon the best view anyway.

A man materialised at her elbow instantly and she looked up at his golden skin and very bright smile.

"Aloha," he greeted her, in a tone that rather expertly skimmed the line between polite and flirtatious.

She smiled up at his handsome face. "Aloha. I hope it is alright that I selected this table?" She said clearly and at a level that Mrs Salisbury would overhear. "My husband is playing and I have not eaten yet."

The man smiled brightly. "Of course, what can I get you? A drink to start?" He offered her a menu and she took it with a smile and immediately requested an apple juice, choosing what was familiar to her. "I will bring it over, give you time to choose what you want to eat."

"Thank you," she replied, feeling slightly more at ease already. She turned to look out at the view outside and focused her attention on the people gathered just in view below. She easily picked John out among the group. He was stood with an unfamiliar man who was a little rotund and animatedly waving his arms towards the golf course. Teyla could not see Mr Salisbury in the group, from up here anyway, but then she was sure John had said he would be teeing off later than their target.

Her drink arrived, beautifully presented in a tall glass with plenty of ice, slices of fruit and a straw. She quickly selected a meal of grilled fish on a bed of vegetables from her menu and the handsome young waiter retreated.

Teyla looked outside again, to see that John was climbing into one of the motorised carts with the rotund man. She had selected her seat well, for in the window she had a partial reflection of Mrs Salisbury. She noticed that the woman glanced at her with apparent interest, but Teyla held off from looking round. She instead watched John's cart's progress outside, amused to think that John would likely find the vehicle far too slow moving. His cart disappeared from view and she let out an overly loud sigh, making sure to sound bored as she picked up her decorated glass and sipped its sweetness through the straw. It was very good juice she noted as she set the glass back down and reached down to her bag. She had brought some magazines that she had purchased in the airport. They were termed fashion magazines, and Mattie had suggested that Mrs Salisbury would read such literature.

Teyla found the pictures very interested, though obviously stylised, for they provided a very different insight into Earth culture than she was used to. She wondered if these overly thin women with surely unrealistically perfect skin were truly seen as the ideal in John's culture. Was this the kind of woman he desired? They all seemed very tall, beautifully elegant and very provocative in their glances into the camera. There were no images of mothers or women working in a career.

She turned another page and looked out the window again, affording her another glimpse of Mrs Salisbury's reflection. The woman glanced at her again, this time with more interest, so Teyla, very casually, looked around at the other windows, which brought Mrs Salisbury into view. The woman was almost as elegant as the women in the pictures, at least in first appearances. Her clothes were very well cut and flattered her thin figure.

The woman looked at Teyla and Teyla smiled at her politely.

"Have I seen you at the resort?" Mrs Salisbury asked.

Teyla gave her a faint polite smile. "We are staying at the Exclusive Paradise Resort," she replied as if she hadn't noticed the woman before.

"My husband part owns it, we are the last but one villa along," Mrs Salisbury replied with some pride in her voice. There was also the hint that she was eager to make some conversation with someone. Teyla wondered how long the poor woman had been sitting there alone.

"Yes, I believe I have seen you then," Teyla replied turning slightly in her seat towards her. "Charlie and I are in the last villa."

"Ahh, you are the Collingwoods," Mrs Salisbury concluded with a more relaxed smile.

"Yes, newly so," Teyla replied, lifting her left hand on which the fake wedding ring could be seen.

"Congratulations," Mrs Salisbury told her. "I have seen you and your new husband walking on the beach I believe."

"Yes, it is a truly beautiful location."

"Yes, it is. I love staying here, though perhaps not so much this clubhouse."

It was the perfect opening for Teyla. "It seems a pleasant enough location, but it is not my ideal way to be spending a day. Especially on my honeymoon," she added with a touch of bitterness in her voice.

Mrs Salisbury gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm afraid, if your husband loves golf, it is likely you'll be spending a whole heck of a lot of time waiting for him to come back off the golf course."

Teyla pulled a pained expression. "I almost wished I had remained back at the villa, but after my argument that we were supposed to be sharing our honeymoon together, he thought it a good idea for me to join him."

Mrs Salisbury laughed at that. "At least you're not out there swinging clubs. I tried that; not for me."

Teyla made a show of laughing lightly. "He has tried to get me to play the game as well, but he has not yet succeeded."

"Maybe that's another reason why he wanted you here, so that you'll be temped by the game. Or more likely, so no one else will get tempted," she added with a heavy wink.

Teyla frowned at her in honest confusion.

"Now, Hon, don't go looking confused. You know what these kind of men are like – they're good for money and screwing, but little else, and they are majorly territorial. Can't see your husband leaving you alone on a beach where other men could lend you their full attention."

Teyla was a little taken back by the suggestion and the bluntness of Mrs Salisbury's response, but it was a good sign, she was sharing, one woman to another.

Mrs Salisbury leant forward. "Trust me, I've been at this a lot longer than you, Hon. These kinds of men need to be watched too."

Teyla suspected she meant rich handsome men, but she didn't ask directly, Mrs Salisbury clearly thought she understood clearly. Her comment also suggested that Mrs Salisbury might be here to keep an eye on her husband.

"So, perhaps it would be best that I keep joining him on this golfing trips?" Teyla asked.

Mrs Salisbury angled her head slightly. "They're beautiful enough locations, and they come back all excited from their game." She gave Teyla a suggestive wink.

Again taken back, Teyla smiled. "I shall look forward to that," she replied as she picked up her juice and sipped some more.

"I'm guessing your new husband works all hours of the day that God gives him, right?"

Teyla nodded her agreement.

"Always thinking about work, even when sat in front of the tv?"

Teyla nodded again, smiling with a pained expression as if commiserating with the woman.

"Gets up at dawn, goes running, reads the paper thoroughly, and then straight to work everyday?"

Teyla nodded again, though it seemed that Mrs Salisbury's description was becoming a little too accurate for John rather than for 'Charlie Collingwood'.

"Yeah, you've got the same kind of husband. Hon, get used to carrying some magazines everywhere you go," she supplied with a half laugh, which Teyla felt sounded rather edged with emotional pain.

"Charlie is dedicated to his work," Teyla told her. "I knew that when I married him."

"We all do when we say 'I do', always thinking they'll change. Men don't change, trust me on that…" She paused to ask Teyla's name.

"Freya," Teyla supplied, feeling a little uncomfortable with the lie.

"I'm Annette, Annette Salisbury," she supplied and stretched out a well manicured hand.

"I am very pleased to meet you," Teyla replied as she shook the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you too," Annette replied. "You want to join me?" She offered the seat opposite her on her table, "And I'll let you into all the secrets you'll need to keep that handsome A type husband of yours."

Teyla smiled as she picked up her drink, magazines and bag, and settled into the seat opposite Annette. She wondered what 'A type' meant.

"So, how long have you been married, Annette?" Teyla asked as she sipped her drink.

"Some days it feels like too long," Annette replied with a glance at the top magazine next to Teyla. "No, he's a good provider and he's good to me."

Teyla nodded at that simple, yet truthful summary of a married life. "What work does he do?"

"He's a businessman, owns loads of companies, all very boring," Annette brushed aside. "He's very successful, and successful men need to be told how well they are doing. Remember that. Fickle egos, especially men like our husbands."

Teyla disagreed – John was not like that, but if Mr Salisbury was, she felt rather sorry for Annette and her choice to stay with such a man.

"Success breeds power and powerful men know they can get whatever they want," Annette continued.

Interesting.

"I do not think Charlie thinks he can have everything he wants," Teyla replied, hoping to pull more information from her.

"Maybe not now, but he wanted you and he's gotten you hasn't he. A beautiful wife by his side is all part of the package they want to create," Annette stated. "Speaking of beautiful…"

Teyla glanced round and saw her waiter approaching with her meal. He smiled at her and Annette as he slid the plate in from of Teyla. "Can I get you anything more, Mrs Salisbury?" He asked, more formally than he had with Teyla.

"I'll have another mai tai," Annette requested.

"Of course," he replied as he took away her empty glass.

Teyla picked up her cutlery and contemplated her lovely looking meal. "I would like to think that Charlie would not see me as just part of a package he wished to create," she replied, adding a touch of worry in her voice for Annette. The fish looked lovely and the vegetables had a light sauce drizzled over them.

"I'm sure he cares for you, Hon. They all do, but they all want to stray."

Teyla frowned at Annette as she chewed on a forkful of her fish. Was Mr Salisbury having an affair?

"Charlie would never do that to me," she replied with a certainty that she realised extended to her faith in John as a person than in the character he was portraying. John would never betray anyone, and how had Annette formed this opinion of him? Because he was handsome and supposedly rich?

Annette gave her a slightly condescending sympathetic smile. "He'll give you a wonderful life – all you need," she stated as her eyes dropped to the top magazine beside Teyla. "Did you see that gorgeous red dress on page 62? Fabulously stunning, I may get it for myself."

Teyla nudged the magazine towards Annette, who was already reaching for it. How bored, or focused on clothing, must the woman be to recall the page number?

Perhaps it was wrong of Teyla to jump to such a conclusion, but she had already formed the opinion that Annette knew little of the detail of her husband's work. As the next hour passed in conversation about little that truly interested Teyla, it only confirmed Teyla's conclusion further.

Mrs Annette Salisbury was friendly, but clearly her life lacked a deep joy. She spoke about nothing except expensive places she had been and clothing she loved. She seemed to have nothing to say about people or work she might do, though her extensive knowledge about clothing might be close to a career for her. She seemed a wife who strived to look after a husband that simply provided her with the prettiest and most expensive of things, but little else. She never spoke of her husband in loving terms, or described things he did other than work. Teyla suspected that Annette was a woman somewhat saddened by her life, and it seemed she was determined to help Freya Collingwood to be prepared for something similar.

Part way through their afternoon together, Teyla decided to push things a little differently and asked more about the magazines, discovering that Annette had always wanted to be a model, but that Mr Salisbury had not approved. Teyla could not resist suggesting that perhaps Annette could be a designer of clothing, since her knowledge seemed so extensive. In the models spread across the magazine's pages, Teyla now saw them as younger versions of Annette, but unlike them, her eyes now held years worth of disappointment.

It was the recognition of disappointment that clawed a little too deeply at Teyla to be comfortable.

It was an emotion she had felt a little too much herself of late, and it was one area at least where she could identity with Annette.

0000

On the spectrum of this vacation, the needle was definitely now pointing towards heaven.

The sweep of the green was a deep lush green, the lines clean and sculpted as if by hand, and in the distance, the ocean was a constant presence.

Leaning on a club, waiting for his turn, John looked out across the gorgeous landscape. The ocean was a deep blue, the breeze strong, but nice in contrast to the strong sun today. Along the course, there had been amazing hazards and even a waterfall as a backdrop to one, but it had also been seriously challenging, which had been fun. Knowing no one here, he didn't really care about how he was doing in his game, other than that he was doing better than Terry.

Terrance Howard had bounced up to John almost as soon as he had parted from Teyla. Terrance worked alongside Teresa at the resort, and had the same tee time as John. Terry was a nice enough guy, and very helpfully he was a chatty kind of guy. On asking if others from the resort were playing, Terry had immediately begun pointing out people further along the course to John. Salisbury had been one of the first, and was only one hole ahead of them, probably because he was standing around talking a lot with his group. John had captured a lot of photos of them as he had just innocently been taking pictures of the course.

Terry had even given John some background on the resort through the afternoon. It turned out Teyla's theory was right that the Texans part owned the resort along with Salisbury and another couple who lived not far away. Terry had been working there for only a year or so, but he had clearly picked up things quickly, including quite a bit of useful gossip for John. John had kept him talking, which also helped to distract the guy from playing well, and putting John well ahead.

"Almost back for a cold one," Terry stated as they rolled up to the eighteenth hole. Salisbury and his group were just finishing in the distance. "You can get back to the villa and your wife," Terry suggested as he nudged John with his elbow.

John tried to smile at that one. "The wife's in the clubhouse actually," he reported as he practiced a few swings as they waited.

"Ahh, she's one of those wives is she? Keeping an eye on you?"

John dropped his attention to his grip, readjusting. His arms felt tired, but he felt good. How could he not after playing this course? He might just have to get O'Neill a gift as Teyla suggested after all.

"Freya's not like that," he replied as he practiced another swing. "She wanted to see the clubhouse."

Terry nodded like he didn't believe John. "Mrs Salisbury will have found her by now, she's usually up there watching the course."

"Salisbury's wife likes to keep an eye on him, huh?" John asked casually.

"Oh, yes, but then she's got every reason to," Terry replied with feeling. "Not that you heard that from me, okay?" He added nervously.

John gave him a smiling smirk. "Who am I'm gonna tell," He suggested offhandedly. "The way's free," he noted, seeing that Salisbury's lot were out the way now.

"You're up first," Terry reminded him.

John nodded and smiled as he walked forward to start the final hole of the course. He was almost sad, except that he could see the clubhouse now where it was nestled in the near distance. He wondered if Teyla had found Salisbury's Mrs. If she had, he suspected she would now know everything about the woman – Teyla had a way about her that allowed people to open up to her. He suspected that was another reason why O'Neill had wanted her on this mission.

John pulled his thoughts back down on the golf ball in front of him. He settled his weight, secured his grip, and looked off down the fairway towards the green, and the clubhouse just beyond. Salisbury was finished. John had hoped to at least try and briefly walk into him, but if they took too long finishing the eighteen he might lose his chance. He dropped his attention back to the ball and decided some power was needed. His shoulder was aching slightly after having to dig himself out of a difficult sand trap two holes back, forcing the ball up and into the strong crosswind had taken some doing. But, this was the last hole and he was running out of time.

He settled himself, centring himself in a way he didn't understand, but knew it was likely as damn close to mediation as he was ever going to get. Hips, arms and shoulders swung, and he powered through, feeling the beauty of the swing even as it was happening, almost independent from him. The club over his shoulder, he watched the ball sail high and long.

Terry whistled appreciatively. "Someone keen to get back to their new wife, by any chance?"

John just smiled as he watched the ball land and roll to a stop just a sweet breath away from where he had wanted it to go. "Something like that," he replied as he stepped aside for Terry.

Moving back and out the way, John watched Terry take his unorthodox stance, but it worked for the guy. He clearly just plain loved to play, and John could understand that. He watched Terry pull back, saw the strain there, and a powerful swing blasted out. The ball went high, but not as smooth and long as John's had. "Not bad," John commented though, club balanced over his shoulders.

"Looks like we're going to get that cold one quicker than expected," Terry replied with a grin as they headed back to the golf cart. "Perhaps it's you that wants to keep an eye on your wife, hey? Bet she's a stunner," he guessed with a suggestive wink.

Teyla's image slipped into John's thoughts, in that tight fitting nice dress she had appeared in this morning. Not that she didn't look great most of the time, hell he wouldn't say no if she was in a mud slicked tac vest, but that dress would be turning heads back in the clubhouse.

He just grinned at Terry, not wanting to put any words to Teyla that might offend her, even if she never heard about it. Terry nudged him again with a knowing look as he started up the cart.

They reached the green in two more shots, three for Terry.

"We're getting tired," Terry concluded by way of excuse, but John had to agree. He found his attention wavering to the clubhouse. Salisbury was gone, but Teyla would stick with Mrs Salisbury, so at least she would get the chance to make contact with their target. It was a shame to see the end of the course, but maybe he'd see if he could get another day in. Maybe he could actually talk Teyla into going round with him, even just to try out a swing or two. Having her here would push that needle even closer to that perfection status for this part of the trip.

He and Terry putted the eighteenth hole quickly once on the green and climbed into the cart with relief. As the electric motor carried them towards the clubhouse, John prodded Terry for some more intel before his chance ran out.

"So, any juicy gossip I should watch out for at the resort?" He asked.

"You two are the most interesting gossip at the moment, we haven't had any newly weds in that end villa for a few months," Terry replied, pushing the motor as hard as he could up the incline.

"No dashing barmen I should keep Freya away from?"

Terry chuckled at that. "Jazzy's a good guy, been married twelve years, and don't worry I'll keep away from your new bride," he added with another wink and nudge.

"Should I be worried about Salisbury from what you said earlier?" John pushed a little harder.

Terry pulled a frown and shrug, his lips pressing together briefly. "Na, he'll not make moves on your woman. He's already got a certain manager in his bed."

John could see Terry was cautious about saying it, even though he was smiling with it. "Teresa?" John clarified.

"For a while now," Terry confided. "Not that you heard that from me, the only reason I'm telling you is I heard she was sniffing around you."

John winced at the term. "Freya's seen her off already," he replied honestly.

Terry laughed at that as he steered them down a right-hand fork, taking them around the clubhouse. "Sounds like a sharp woman."

John just nodded, because up ahead, stood around the carts, was Salisbury and his group still talking.

"Speak of the devil," Terry whispered as he parked up their cart. "I'll introduce you."

John couldn't have asked for a better chance. "Sure," he replied.

Salisbury had already noticed them and turned to Terry as he climbed out of his side of the cart.

"Terry," Salisbury greeted him. John climbed out the far side and moved round the back of the cart to pull free his golf bag, seemingly not that interested in Salisbury.

"Mr Salisbury, you looked good out there today," Terry sucked up royally.

"Thanks," Salisbury replied with faint interest and John looked round from his clubs to see the man's attention was on him.

"This is Charlie Collingwood," Terry introduced him and John immediately stepped forward and offered his hand, working the laid back confident character he had decided on. "Charlie, this is Mr Salisbury."

"Good to meet you, Collingwood," Salisbury said as he shook John's hand. It was a firm but brief handshake, typical of men who had to do it too much, but it had conveyed enough strength to make a point.

"Salisbury," John replied, also dropping the Mr.

"Looks like you had a good swing out there," Salisbury said in a surprising compliment.

"Thanks."

"Been playing long?"

"Since I was six," John replied honestly, sizing up the man, yet making sure he was smiling. "You?"

"Not quite that long," Salisbury replied with a smile. "You enjoying your stay?"

"It's great," John replied.

Salisbury nodded, his smile almost as good as a poker face, but his eyes were sharp and they were assessing John intently. John wasn't sure what it was about him that had caught the guy's focus, maybe he just liked to assess his neighbours. "You heard about the resort through Alex Nelson, right?"

"Yeah, he pointed us this way," John replied. "He's a good guy. Said it would be the perfect place to bring the Mrs."

Salisbury smiled a little more naturally, but John sensed a definite touch of suspicion in the air. "Congratulations on the wedding."

"Thanks," John replied.

"Your first?"

John hadn't expected that. "Hopefully the last," he replied quickly with a smile at Terry beside him.

"You can hope," Terry added with a crack of laughter.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay," Salisbury said, clearly rounding up their conversation. It was a brief meet and assess kind of conversation, but then maybe Charlie Collingwood would be doing the same. John added a touch of assessment into his own expression, taking in the whole air of the guy.

"Thanks," John replied more warmly as he shook Salisbury's hand again. There was more pressure in Salisbury's grip this time, but it was still brief.

Terry stayed behind to talk with his boss, offering to take care of the clubs for John, so John left with a few others from Salisbury's group. They were all chatty, and John made some small talk as he followed them into the changing rooms. He had a quick wash so that he would smell a little better for Teyla in the car on the way back. He would have a proper shower and change back at the villa. By the time he was finished, there was no sign of Salisbury turning up, so he headed out into the clubhouse. He had checked his cell several times, but there fortunately hadn't been any calls for help from Teyla. He guessed she would be in the restaurant so would start his search for her there.

It was a nice set up in the clubhouse, lots of wooden panels and tall windows providing fantastic views of the course. He felt a touch of pride to have made his way around such a great course, it would give him plenty to share in Atlantis' driving range sessions. He hadn't realised how much he had missed a proper course, but clearly the driving range into a massive alien ocean had been keeping his swing sweet.

He found the restaurant upstairs, busy with the early dinner crowd by the looks of it. He was feeling hungry, but he would prefer to head back to the villa to eat. He had had enough of playing the part of Charlie Collingwood for the afternoon and he suspected that it would be best not too be around Salisbury too much. O'Neill had been right in his brief to keep contact casual – Salisbury had seemed a suspicious guy.

The bar to his left presented the possibility of a beer, but John held back, continuing on in search of his 'wife'. He heard her laughter before he spotted her, not that it was her most natural of laughs, but it still captured his attention. He followed the sound round into the next room, which held two walls of windows and plenty of tables. Near the far corner, Teyla was seated with Mrs Salisbury, just as planned. He controlled his smile as he headed towards them, only to find that Salisbury himself had beaten John up here. The guy was stood to one side talking with someone who looked like they were a staff member of the clubhouse.

Mrs Salisbury noticed John first and pointed him out to Teyla with a smile as he approached their table. He had a sudden sense of foreboding – what exactly had the two women been talking about?

Teyla looked over her shoulder towards him and smiled widely. He was almost certain he had correctly seen the relief in her expression.

As he neared her, he realised that, for the first time, they were going to have to overtly play the happily married couple. He wondered if he should kiss her cheek – because _that's_ what married couples did. He wasn't sure he could kiss her on the lips without it being too much. He battled the decision until he reached her chair, but fortunately Teyla took the initiative.

"Hello, Charlie," she greeted him with a big welcoming smile and glowing cheeks as she reached out to him with her hand. He automatically reached out towards her hand with his, and it felt strangely natural, and yes thrilling, to take her smaller delicate hand in his. He had briefly held her hand before to help her up over obstacles in the field, but he had never held onto her hand, and, just as he feared, he now felt a rush of silly pleasure through him in doing so.

If only…

He pulled his eyes away from her and looked across to Mrs Salisbury who smiled up at him.

"Charlie, this is Annette Salisbury," Teyla introduced her.

Annette reached out to shake his hand, forcing him to let go of Teyla's to shake it. He dropped his hand back to his side afterwards, but then decided to rest it along the back of Teyla's chair.

"Charlie Collingwood," John introduced himself. "You two been enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes, Annette has been kindly introducing me to the wife's perspective of playing golf," Teyla reported, looking up at him with an overly bright smile. He suspected that she was growing tired of the show, but he could also tell that she had learnt a lot. "Annette and her husband are staying in the next villa over from ours," Teyla added for the other couple's benefit.

John nodded with interest like he hadn't know that fact as he glanced to Salisbury close by who glanced in John's direction from his conversation, nodding slightly and then looking away again. "I met your husband just off the course," John reported, for her and for Teyla.

Annette looked round at her husband. "Don't mind him, he's always distant with new folks. How did you enjoy your first turn about the course?" She asked John.

"Great," John replied, seeing Teyla tilt her head back to look up at him. "Challenging," he added.

"Ah, yes, always a good sign," Annette replied. She seemed nice enough and clearly Teyla had made a connection with her.

John saw Salisbury glance their way again – it was time to retreat John felt. Too much time around them might trigger more suspicion. Salisbury wasn't likely to meet anyone significant here in the middle of the restaurant, and at least it could be a place O'Neill's people could keep an eye on in the future.

John looked down at his beautiful 'wife'. "You ready to head back?" He asked, already seeing the answer in her expression.

"Yes, I am," she replied. "If you are ready?" She asked as she reached for her bag and slipped some women's mags into it. There was an empty tall glass in front of her. He wondered if the light pink flush to her cheeks was due to a few drinks.

She began to push her chair back to stand, but he pulled it carefully back for her, giving her space to stand. "It was wonderful meeting you, Annette," she said across the table.

"I'm sure we'll see each other around at the resort. You must come back for your next vacation, perhaps your first anniversary," Annette insisted with a smile. "Lovely to meet you too, Charlie," she added.

John nodded his thanks as he stepped back to give Teyla space to move away from the table.

Teyla said goodbye again, slipped her bag over her shoulder, and suddenly her hand was back in his.

John didn't react, which took a lot self-control as they walked away from the Salisburys.

Moving between the other tables, he held back to allow Teyla to go first, but he didn't let go of her hand – as a loving new husband wouldn't. Keeping their hands together as she slid between tables and people, meant that she held his hand behind her, dangerously close to her hip and backside. He realised he was watching just how close his hand was to grazing against her, and quickly returned his attention to the room around him. It wouldn't matter, he was supposed to be a besotted husband, and it wasn't like Teyla would have noticed.

Free of the tables, he fell back into step with her. She smiled up at him with a look that confirmed she had been successful in her conversation with Annette.

"Did you really enjoy yourself?" She asked as they exited the restaurant.

"It was great," he replied honestly, still holding her hand as they made their way down the stairs. He was desperately conscious of how tight he held her hand, because too tight would give too much away and too loose would seem disrespectful.

They didn't say much else to each other all the way back through the clubhouse, other than to remark on the décor of the clubhouse and that the weather was still warmer than yesterday.

They stepped out into the air again and waited for their car to be driven up for them. John tried to focus on something other than the intimacy of holding her hand.

"Did you manage to learn anything useful?" Teyla asked quietly, her smile still in place and seeming real enough.

"Bit yeah," he replied. "You?" He asked as he saw their car approaching.

"Of a certain description," she confirmed.

The car pulled up and the driver's door opened on the far side. John reached out and opened the passenger side door for her, releasing her hand finally as she slid into the car. The keys passed to him, and a generous tip exchanged, John slid into his seat, secured his belt and pulled away from the clubhouse.

"Sorry if I'm not all that fresh smelling," he apologised right away as he lowered his window. "I'll shower when we get in."

Teyla seemed to find that funny. "You smell fine to me," she replied as she settled her bag down by her feet.

"So, anything useful from Annette?" He asked.

"Annette has been intent on preparing me on the difficulties of being married to an A type businessman who plays a lot of golf."

John glanced at her with a smile. "Difficulties as in she doesn't get to see him much?"

"That and he places his work above everything else," Teyla replied.

John braked at a junction, looking both ways. "Not surprising with a guy like Salisbury."

He pulled out into proper traffic, or at least as busy as traffic got in this area of Kaua'i. He settled his elbow on the window's ledge and wished it would rain a little to take the edge off the growing humidity.

"Well, according to my new friend, Terry," he reported, "who works with Teresa in the resort, Salisbury certainly has time to spend with other women."

"Annette suggested as much, and appears to be why she insists on accompanying him to the golf courses."

"It doesn't stop him from spending 'time' with Teresa though," John told her with a pointed look.

Teyla looked shocked. "Teresa? Really?"

"At least according to Terry," John added.

"Do you think he is a trustworthy source?"

"Yeah, I recon he knows everything that's going on around there. He's the type that sucks up to anyone with power, so he'll make it his business to know everything that could help him climb the ladder."

Teyla considered that. "Why would he share that knowledge with you though?"

"To warn me. Apparently news has already gotten round that Teresa had her sights set on me," he couldn't help roll his eyes at that. It wasn't that Teresa wasn't a good looking woman, but she wasn't his type.

Teyla laughed next to him, which he felt deserved a good glare in the second he could risk looking away from the road. "Are you disappointed?" She asked jokingly.

"You've already chased her away," John replied, pretending to look upset, but knowing she would see through it.

She shook her head as she pulled out a bottle of water from her bag. "I would think so too, a woman looking at a newly married man in that way." She drank some of her water.

John found her comment warmly amusing. Teyla had good strong standards, which he agreed with.

Which of course would include staying with the father of her child who she apparently loved and wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

His amusement dropped out through the floor, leaving the usual niggling doubt and background frustrated desire back in play. He had so easily forgotten about Kanaan during their handholding session. It was far too easy to forget about Kanaan, but he kept reminding himself. A lot.

"Annette was perhaps no better," Teyla continued. "She openly flirted with our waiter and another man who knew her and Mr Salisbury."

"Maybe she knows about him and Teresa?" John considered as he took the turn onto the road that would lead to the villas.

"I cannot imagine that she would wish to still stay here so frequently if she knew about them."

"Maybe she doesn't care," John suggested.

"No, I think she does care deeply for him, perhaps too much," Teyla replied.

John glanced at her briefly. "You think she'll stay loyal to him?" He asked. If there was any best spy for them it would be Annette Salisbury, but tapping a spouse for intel would always be seriously risky.

Teyla considered the question for a long pause before answering. They had almost reached their villa when she finally spoke. "I believe she does love him, for though he spends so much of his time focusing away from her, she speaks of him proudly enough. I suspect that might be why she does always accompany him on his work travels - simply to remain close to him."

With that softly spoken phrase, they dropped into silence as John turned into their driveway and put the car in park. He sensed a strange sense of distance from her somehow as he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his car door. She was probably thinking about Kanaan, wishing he was here with her to 'be close to him'. He kept his gaze away from her as he reached back inside the car and pulled out his golf bag. He shut the door and locked up the car as she made her way around the drive towards the front door of the villa.

She looked so good in that dress. He wasn't sure he could spend the evening sat inside alone with her when she looked like that. He couldn't exactly ask her to change, though maybe she would change soon anyway.

"You want to go out for dinner tonight?" He suggested as he passed the key ahead to her and she unlocked the door and entered.

"That would be lovely," she replied over her shoulder.

"I'll go shower and change and we can head out," he suggested.

She nodded immediately and he made his way straight upstairs.

0000  
On to Chapter 7….


	7. The Beach

**Part**: 7/11

0000

**CHAPTER SEVEN – THE BEACH**

The shower was wonderful and just what he needed. The golf course had been dry today, and almost too hot at some places out of the wind, and he had built up a sweat working with the course. He also had managed to bring away a good amount of that damn sand trap back in his shoes that he hadn't noticed earlier.

Scrubbed, cooled down and clean, he dried himself off only to realise that his clean clothes were in the other room. Securing a towel around his waist, he cracked open the door and slipped out into the bedroom and made his way quickly to the study/game room. She was still downstairs – he was okay. He shut the door securely and changed. He chose some more shorts, supplied by Mattie, from the bag, despite Teyla's comment earlier today about him wearing them. It was still too humid. He pulled on one of his own shirts though, the soft white shirt making him feel more relaxed somehow. He picked up a light coloured jacket out of the bag, shook out most of the creases, and put on far more comfortable, and sand free, shoes than he had worn to the golf course.

He checked his cell for emails from O'Neill as he returned the damp towel to the bathroom, and then headed downstairs.

She was still in her lovely dress, now sat on the couch, so that its hemline had risen partly up her thighs. It was yet another example of enjoyment mixing with torture that was defining this vacation/mission.

"It's still hot out, so I'm going with more shorts, okay," he warned her as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

She looked around with a smile, her eyes dropping to his legs. "They look very nice," she reported. He wasn't entirely sure if she was referring to the shorts or his legs. He chose not to ask.

Twenty minutes later, they were settling into a booth in a cosy corner of a local restaurant. It was busy, but they had managed to nab a great seat thanks to the previous couple leaving just before they'd arrived. John could even see the clubhouse at the golf course from his seat, though admittedly he couldn't make out much detail from this distance. He might be able to recognise a car leaving along the private drive, at least until the sun started to go down. Which made him realise something.

"You didn't happen to notice next door's car did you?" He asked Teyla, carefully not mentioning Salisbury's name. He couldn't even remember spotting a car.

Teyla looked up from her menu and frowned delicately. "I do not recall seeing one." John nodded with her. "Though perhaps it is parked behind their villa?" Teyla added. "Their driveway runs between our buildings, surely it leads somewhere behind their villa."

John hadn't thought of that. "Seems a bit suspicious," he considered out loud. "Or, maybe they get driven wherever they want."

"Perhaps Teresa drives him wherever he wishes to go," Teyla suggested in what John could only describe as a cheeky tone.

He looked at her pointedly, and she peered over the top of her menu with transparent innocence. She smiled as lowered her eyes back to the short, but well stocked menu. He wasn't sure he should like this continuing teasing from her, because it implied that she had no problem with other women being interested in him, while he was finding the excessive attention she was receiving from men really irritating. What was even more irritating, and starting to get to him, was that he knew he had no right to feel that way, and it wasn't right to start resenting her for not feeling for him what he felt for her.

Only she had seemed more than happy in his arms in that future vision.

Not that there was any guarantee that it had even been their future – it was probably another reality completely, in which Teyla actually wanted more than friendship with him.

Maybe Kanaan didn't exist in that other reality. Maybe Michael had gotten rid of him.

John felt bad for thinking that.

He glared grumpily down at his menu, wishing he was a nicer person and that she would keep her menu in front of her through the entire meal so that he couldn't see her distracting cleavage.

She set the folded menu aside. "I think I will have the spicy lentil soup and the roasted lamb."

John nodded and realised that he wasn't actually paying attention to the writing on his menu. "Sounds good, I'll have the same," he decided and set his menu aside, glad he didn't have to bother reading it anymore.

He looked off through the window overlooking the end of their booth, which afforded him the view of the golf course.

"What did you think of…Jeff?" she asked, purposefully not using his full name in case those seated close by might know Salisbury, which was probably quite likely in this small community.

John didn't reply immediately because the waitress returned, took their order and left.

"Think Mattie summed him up pretty well in that file. Confident, suspicious, kind of uptight."

"I do not recall that last description being in the file," Teyla replied with a smile.

"It went unsaid," John pointed out, forcing himself not to look below her neck. He reached for the salt and pepper in the middle of the table, and lined them up with the bowl of two different types of sugar and the menus. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ran a search on me tonight."

"What did you say to him?"

"Nothing," John replied immediately looking up from his rearranging of the condiments. "His handshake was too short."

Teyla frowned a smile at him.

He smiled back. "His handshake," he continued, trying to explain what he had sensed about the guy in the split seconds they had shaken hands. "He doesn't like touching people," he concluded. "He looked like he didn't trust me. Or else he was just jealous of my sweet swing," he added with a smirk.

Her smile widened into a nice grin. "I am sure it was very sweet," she replied, her arms crossing in front of her on the table. John made sure to look up and away from her arms and the way their folded position lifted her breasts in the dress. The waitress fortunately returned with their drinks. John gratefully thanked her for the beer, and he wrapped his hand round the cool chill of the bottle and took a long swallow.

He looked at Teyla to see her smile at him with amusement. "It's been a long day," he explained.

She angled her head in agreement. "At least you had some exercise; I had to remain in one seat the entire afternoon."

"Looked like you two were getting along," he remarked as he watched her sip her fruit drink. There were three paper umbrellas in it.

"Well enough, she seemed a somewhat sad person," Teyla remarked.

"Because of Jeff?" He asked and watched her frown as she considered her answer. She seemed honestly upset for Annette.

"It seemed to me that she had so much she wished to do in her life, but she has pursued none of it because of her husband, and, despite my suggestion that there was plenty of time to change that, I doubt she will."

John smiled sadly at her. "Couldn't help yourself trying to fix it for her, huh?"

She gave a slight shrug, a bare golden shoulder lifting as she glanced away to the window. She had her hair pinned up at the back, which meant he could see her neck completely, and where the straps of her dress were secured at her nape.

"I like to believe that it is never too late in life to make changes. Just because one has done something one way all their life so far does not mean that they cannot change," she replied philosophically as she glanced down at her hands on the edge of the table, and John got the impression that she was talking about herself. He couldn't imagine anything she hadn't already achieved in life.

"Maybe Annette doesn't believe that," John considered, feeling he should say something.

Teyla lifted her eyes up to meet his. "Perhaps she is not courageous enough."

John thought it a strange thing to say, especially if she was indirectly talking about herself – she was one of the bravest people he knew.

She looked away to the window. "I suppose her life is so different from mine that I find it difficult to understand," she added, clearly forcing herself out of her brief low philosophical mood. John wanted to push and ask her what she had meant about herself, but he didn't. It wasn't any of his business.

"She's still human," John replied, simplifying things. "And she made her choices in life." He considered the immaculate woman he had seen in the clubhouse. "She's more than intelligent enough to know what she would need to do to change things."

"And she had chosen to place things and an elegant lifestyle over what might make her truly happy," Teyla replied.

It was an argument that John realised was in sharp contrast to Teyla's life. She had grown up under the constant threat of a culling, all she had wanted was for those she cared about to be safe from the Wraith. To desperately want the best coats and shoes likely seemed crazy to her.

He wondered how best to help her understand. He set his hands around his beer and leant his forearms on the table. "One thing about living…here," he said carefully, making sure she understood he meant Earth. "Is that often the only way to survive, to have enough food and water, is to have money," he explained. "Without it, people literally end up dying." He met and held her eyes.

She angled her head thoughtfully, listening to him intently and with a soft focus that felt new between them.

"Its something I know probably sounds alien," he continued, "but here, for my people, to know that they will be financially secure for life, is sometimes more important than following their personal dreams which might risk leading them to end up having nothing."

She lifted her eyebrows and pondered his words. "I suppose I can understand that, but…it still seems…sad to me." Her voice was soft and careful, as if she was concerned she might insult him perhaps.

"It is," he agreed, dropping his gaze to his beer. "I've seem some places on this world where people have nothing except dirty water to drink and a tiny patch of ground to live on. And still, there's someone who wants to take that away from them." Memories flowed across his mind's eye, still painful and raw despite the years that had passed.

He looked up at her, willing away the dark memories, and found her watching him with wide eyes. "I had not realised things could be so difficult here."

"Not so much on this island," he joked weakly, "But even in my own country, there are people who barely have enough to survive."

She frowned worriedly. "And there are wars here, over people wanting each other's land and resources," she asked and he nodded.

She had seen the papers in Atlantis and the ones he had been reading over the last two days. She knew there were several wars raging even now on Earth. She also knew there were earthquakes, tsunami, volcanoes, and drought here. So much happening on just one planet in a galaxy so far from her own. He had never really talked to her about this before, though had assumed that someone else had. He didn't like to tell her of Earth's troubles, there had been enough to worry over in Pegasus, and also, he realised, he had wanted her to think the best of his people. Knowing that there were people killing each other here was hardly something to be proud about. If everyone here knew what real threats there were and had been out in the stars, it might unite humanity together, but it would be some time until that happened.

She frowned and let out a heavy sigh. "It seems that life, wherever one lives, is often difficult."

He nodded and smiled at that truth. He wished he didn't feel like something had been damaged with the conversation, that in her talking about the truth of life on Earth had somehow muddied her opinion of him and his own people.

The waitress arrived with their soup. John picked up his spoon as he glanced out at the distant clubhouse.

"It is unlikely you will see him from here," Teyla said with a smile before she drank her first spoonful of soup.

John had to agree with her. "Wondering if we should have stayed there for dinner," he wondered out loud.

"I think we had both had enough of that place by then," Teyla replied.

"True," John agreed as he licked the tasty soup from his lips.

"This has an unusual flavour," Teyla considered.

"I think its cumin," John suggested after another mouthful and she smiled at him as if she found his knowledge surprising and amusing. "You learn anything else from Annette?"

Teyla relayed most of her conversation, including some humorous comments about how when one had a rich husband one should always praise him in and out of the bedroom. John set his empty bowl aside as the main course arrived, and quickly asked another question about Annette.

"I learnt much about the clothing industry as well," Teyla continued as they tucked into their lamb. "It seems that Annette is well versed in what is 'in fashion'." John chuckled at the way she said it. "Apparently my dress is very acceptable for the current fashion."

John found his eyes straying downwards, as if he needed to check for himself. "Well, it's certainly nice."

She smiled at his compliment, and he suspected he had revealed a little too much in the way he had said it.

"Perhaps I should ask Mattie to purchase clothes for me in the future," she suggested. John refrained once more from pointing out that the clothes were not the real reason why she looked so good.

"Not sure, she did the best for me," John replied, more to move the conversation along than meaning it.

"That is a lovely shirt," Teyla replied immediately.

"This one's mine," he replied with a smile, liking her compliment. "The shorts aren't my choice."

"They look fine too," Teyla added with a smile, and he decided he was being a woman to worry over her liking his clothes.

He cleared his throat as he reached for his beer. "Anything else interesting at the clubhouse?"

"No, though Jeff did kiss the back of my hand," Teyla reported, and John paused with his fork partway to his open mouth.

"He did?" He asked surprised.

"Is that not a custom here?" She asked.

John tilted his head one way then the other as he considered his answer. "I suppose, but it's quite old fashioned," he decided. Salisbury kissed her hand did he? John would watch the guy more closely next time.

"He seemed very polite at least," Teyla replied unaware of John's silent suspicions about Salisbury's 'politeness'. "Back home, there are a people called the Apedu, who greet people and compliment them with a kiss to each of their fingers."

"Don't remember meeting them."

She smiled as she wiped her mouth. "They tended to travel frequently between…ports," she amended from saying Stargate. "Some people found them overly affectionate at times."

John smiled at her politically correct description. "I can imagine."

"My father told me that a war was once started because a leader thought his wife was being lulled away into an affair by a man of the Apedu due to his repeated finger kissing greeting."

John was still chuckling about that as they finished their dessert and paid their bill. They made their way out of the restaurant and then slowly back to where he had parked the car. The sky was gradually starting to darken, but sunset would be a while off yet if yesterday's sunset had been any judge.

They climbed into the car and he drove them back to the villa in comfortable silence. As he parked up on the driveway, they both looked from the dark Salisbury house to each other.

"Looks like they're not back yet," John commented.

"Or perhaps Annette is following through on her praising this evening," Teyla suggested, surprising John.

He pulled a wince. "Thank you for that image," he muttered as he shut down the engine, still taken back by Teyla's overt comment, she wasn't usually one for using suggestive comments. "How much did you two drink back at the clubhouse exactly?" He asked.

She looked at him with a meaningful glare. "I had only one alcoholic beverage."

John nodded. "Maybe she had more," he suggested as he pulled the key out of the ignition.

"I suspect she can also hold her alcohol quite well," Teyla replied as she watched next door's dark villa along with him.

"You think she drinks too much?" He asked curious.

"She implied that she often had to hold her own during boring evening events surrounded by businessman," Teyla clarified.

"Some Dutch courage, huh?" John considered. "We'll just have to wait for them to come back."

Teyla twisted in her seat to look through the back window of the car. "Perhaps they went for another walk along the beach?"

"Maybe they did," he agreed.

Teyla twisted back round. "I would quite like a walk, having been the one to work so hard inside all day."

He smiled at her teasing, but memories of the nice sunset lit walk with her yesterday evening lingered in his mind. She was still wearing that dress. "You gonna to be warm enough in that?" He found himself asking.

"It is still very warm out," she replied as if he had just been concerned for her health. He guessed he had been, though perhaps more about his own health.

She opened the car door and the warm evening air flowed in, traitorously emphasising her point. He climbed out of the car and followed her down the driveway to the curb, trying not to look reluctant. He handed her the keys to put in her bag as they crossed the road, and he looked back to see that the Salisburys' villa really was entirely dark, without any hint of any life in it.

They walked through the palms and shrubbery onto the beach once more. The sky was turning faintly orange as they stopped and looked both ways down the narrow beach, looking for any sign of the Salisburys.

"There do not seem to be any fresh footprints," Teyla pointed out with some disappointment.

John nodded his agreement as he looked down both directions of the beach. "Which way do you wanna go? Left or right?"

She took a breath of the evening air beside him and he watched the ocean breeze dance the strands of her hair that had escaped from being pinned up off her neck.

"I do not think I could face climbing up that steep path this evening," Teyla reported which was fine by John.

"Same here," he readily agreed. "I've had enough exercise for today."

She looked at him along her bare shoulder. "I saw those automated carts you were using to travel around the course."

He smiled at that, "They weren't automated, we had to drive them," he pointed out technically.

"If you would prefer to sit inside…" She offered.

"No, no, I'll enjoy a walk along the beach," he replied immediately. Sure he would enjoy another romantic walk along a beach with her in her gorgeous dress, pretending she was his wife.

He had been in worse situations. He offered her his elbow again and she smiled as she slipped her hands around his arm. "Shall we still go to the left?" She suggested, "In case they have gone up the steep steps again."

"Sure," he agreed, making his voice more cheerful for her. "You still got the camera?" He checked. They had transferred the camera from his golf bag to her handbag before dinner.

"Yes," she replied lifting her far shoulder where the bag hung. "Did you capture many on the golf course?"

"Yeah, quite a few, got all of the group Salisbury was with," he replied as they walked at a nice slow wandering pace along the sand.

"I forgot to mention to you that I saw some humorous golf related mugs and other gift items we could purchase for 'Jack'."

They talked joke gifts for a while and then onto some ideas for something for Torren. The sun gradually began to sink behind the headland, the spectacular view from yesterday evening only available on the other side. John felt faintly disappointed but pleased that things were different this evening. He was feeling more comfortable with Teyla that was for sure. They had spent a successful day together, and they still had plenty of their vacation to enjoy.

On the torture to heaven scale, he was currently somewhere in the middle, which was fine right about now.

They reached the base of the steep steps from last night, but this time headed to the surf instead, paddling slightly into the warm water as they turned around and headed back along the beach. John watched the shallow surf swirl around his and Teyla's bare ankles and thought it would make a nice photo, but he kept walking.

She talked about a planet she had visited when she was younger where people had built their homes over the lakes and rivers in the belief that the Wraith hated water. They had been wrong, of course. John told her about similar kinds of buildings on Earth, set on stilts over lagoons.

They wandered at a leisurely pace, pausing occasionally when she wanted to pick up a shell or smooth stone to study it. She shook one lovely empty shell out and decided to keep it as a souvenir of the vacation. He suggested that some of that luxury chocolate spread would also be a good thing for her to take home.

She was chuckling at that when she tensed against his arm. "John, they have returned," she said quietly, as if their voices would carry the long distance from where they stood in the surf across the beach, through the palms, across the road and to the now lit windows of the Salisburys' villa.

"They're not going to hear us from here," he pointed out with a smile, as he struggled against a sense of disappointment. As much as he wanted to complete the mission, he had been enjoying just walking through the surf, talking with her as the day turned into dark evening.

"There is a car parked out front," Teyla noted as she pulled her hand from his arm and walked on ahead of him.

He frowned, craning his neck to see between the darkening palm leaves and shrubs to where he could see the outline of the villa windows, but not inside. "Might be theirs," he considered. He looked back round to see that Teyla was a good couple of metres ahead of him now, so he followed, lengthening his strides to catch up.

"Would they not park in the driveway or around the back as we theorised?" she asked over her shoulder.

"Good point," he conceded as he reached her side where she had now stopped. There was a good clear line between trees to give them a decent view now, but with the darkness growing by the second now, the light of the villa's windows seemed all the brighter.

"The area directly in front of their villa is clear of vegetation," she reminded him from their scouting this morning. "From there we might be able to see who is inside."

He felt oddly cautious about that though. "It's a clear line of sight," he considered, peering through the growing darkness ahead. "They'll see us just as easily as we'll see them." The air was cooling slightly, but the humidity was still higher than he liked, but stood at the edge of the ocean, the air felt fresher.

"We are just a couple out walking along the beach," Teyla stated looking up at him.

He frowned at her before he returned his attention to the distant open channel in front of Salisbury's place. "We'll be lit up like Christmas trees stood looking in from the beach." He suspected, looking at it now, that the open view Salisbury had of the beach might not just be so he had the best view of the ocean. It would be hard to spy on the guy through all those wide windows lighting up the area in front of the villa.

"The ocean is safe here, is it not?" Teyla asked.

John looked down at the surf barely covering their ankles. "We're okay," he assured her bemused at her sudden concern.

"If we wade out further, we would be beyond the reach of the light," she suggested indicating the flat smooth stretch of ocean sliding up the beach ahead of them, looking so different in the deepening darkness.

He didn't get to answer because she was already moving forward, heading further out into the water.

"Watch your step," John advised quickly.

The water was deeply dark around John's shins as he followed her, watching the Salisbury villa as he did. Through the breaks in the vegetation as they neared, he could see the suggestion of movement inside the living room. "Someone's definitely in there," he said quietly.

Teyla had stopped heading outwards from the beach and was now walking parallel to it. She was right that the long fingers of light from the lit villa windows didn't stretch out this far. He wasn't so sure that they still wouldn't be noticed though. He recalled Salisbury's controlled suspicious smile back at the golf course. There had been a hardness in his eyes, which gave John no doubt that the guy was capable of causing all kinds of trouble.

He shared that thought with Teyla, feeling oddly nervous about Salisbury seeing them out here. They were supposed to be casually observing, but then there wasn't much chance of seeing who was inside the villa without actually taking a look. After all, Salisbury's villa conveniently had no side windows and he had his own private side driveway.

"This is why we are here," Teyla pointed out from ahead of him as they splashed their way along. The water reached up just over her knees, but it didn't seem to be slowing her. He watched the water swirl around her shapely legs striding forwards, droplets of water splashing up her thighs to dampen the patterned dress she wore so well. In the full darkness now, he could see her well enough, not just because the lights of the villas to the right, but because her pale dress glowed slightly in the darkness. He was wearing a white shirt too – they would be obvious out here. He glanced back down the beach, checking to see if anyone else was out walking who might see them in their spying.

"There is nothing overly suspicious about two newlyweds enjoying a walk through the surf," Teyla theorised logically.

"Yeah, except for when we're standing peering into our neighbour's place," John replied as he made himself focus on the villa and not Teyla.

Teyla looked over her shoulder at him with an almost amused glance. She had wrapped the strap of her bag across her body to keep it out of the water, which resulted in the strap sitting across her cleavage, emphasising her breasts. "I believe most would accept that a couple might stop at times on a walk to embrace."

John's eyebrows shot up his forehead, but she was looking away to the villa. Great, now he was going to have to pretend to be 'embracing', because holding her hand had been tough enough.

He really wished he would just snap out of this.

As she strode on through the water, he found himself feeling slightly bitter suddenly about how easily she was taking to this pretence.

"I don't think Kanaan would be too happy about that."

The words had simply poured out of his mouth, and though he had muttered them quietly, they had easily been loud enough for her to hear. And well she should, he thought abruptly, because it was about time that Kanaan's name was actually mentioned. She might not know how tough all this pretending to be married and forgetting what they had seen in their vision was on John, but she had to admit that it would be tough for Kanaan. In that way at least, she would have to acknowledge something.

"It would hardly be of any concern to him," Teyla replied.

"Trust me, Teyla, a guy gets upset when his woman's out cuddling other men, pretending to or not," he replied trying to sound conversational, as he kept his attention on the water between the back of her legs and the front of his as he followed her. God, he was literally following along behind her while complaining about her boyfriend. How old was he?

It felt good to vent though, even just a tiny bit.

"It has been far too long since I was Kanaan's _woman_ for his opinion to matter," she stated clearly into the night as she waded onwards.

John froze.

He stopped in his tracks, the ocean sliding around his knees, as he watched her walking away from him, her body wrapped in her pale dress and her bare arms loose at her sides.

"What?" He asked into the air, his voice slightly higher than he had intended.

"Sharing a child does bind us," she replied sounding slightly defensive, as she continued on through the water. "But that does not mean that our short time as a couple must always influence my life."

John stared after her, his mouth open as he replayed what she had said, just in case he had misunderstood.

"Wait, what?" He repeated, honestly confused, whilst simultaneously suppressing a bubbling sense of hope.

Teyla stopped ahead of him and looked out towards Salisbury's villa, her face in profile, before she looked back towards John. Only she did a slight double take, clearly having expected him to be closer to her. She frowned at him through the darkness as if she was confused as well.

The rush of the tide sounded louder around them than before, but that was probably because they were stood still now and his brain was still trying not to jump to one evitable conclusion.

"Wait," he repeated lifting one hand up. "You're telling me, that you and Kanaan aren't together?" He asked carefully as he began moving forward again, slowly towards her.

She tilted her head as if she was definitely confused. "Not for a long time," she replied as if the answer was obvious.

"How long?" John asked as he neared her, hearing his disbelief plain in his voice.

"Since shortly after Torren was born."

John's shock ratcheted up even higher.

"I thought you knew that," she added softly, seeming shocked herself.

"_No_," John replied with feeling as he stopped a few feet away from her. "You didn't say anything."

"I assumed everyone knew," she replied as she glanced off towards the villas. "Kanaan had his own quarters, and he spent much of his time on New Athos."

"We thought that was, you know, the work thing. You were on the team, he was helping out your people," John explained, sure that he was missing something because this couldn't be real. "And he stayed with you on Atlantis, when we came to Earth," he argued.

"To be with Torren," she replied. "Kanaan and I spend no time together, John. I spend my time with Torren and you, and the rest of the team. And Jennifer and Carson," she added, her words sliding away.

Now he thought about it, when had he seen her with Kanaan other than when Torren was being passed from one to the other before or after a shift? Teyla spent most of her evenings with him and the others. Why hadn't he realised that before? He had just assumed that she went back to Kanaan at the end of those evenings.

She looked away to the light of the villas, and he just stared at her, trying to process that this was really happening.

"I can see partly into their living room," she reported. He automatically looked to the lit windows with her, dragging his attention back to the mission. "There is at least one other person inside," she added as she moved away, her attention fixed on the villa.

She was wading forward again, away from him, making her way towards the break in the vegetation that would afford them an uninterrupted view of Salisbury's late evening guests.

"So, just let me get this right," he asked as he followed. "All this time, you and Kanaan haven't been together?" He asked, just once more to be sure.

She looked over her shoulder and he saw a strange expression cross her face before she looked away. "No, we have not," she replied.

The simple blunt answer hit John squarely, and the relief was physical, mixing with a heady exuberance, but also with a good touch of something very close to annoyance.

"So, all last week, these last two days," he continued, "you've been single?" He asked to be absolutely sure there wasn't some other guy and just shocked at the irony that all through the time following their future vision together, she had actually been single.

"Yes," she replied and as she looked back at him briefly, and this time he saw an amused, almost shy, smile. Suddenly the whole cove, the villa, Kaua'i, and Earth dissolved away until there was just the space between them as she walked ahead and he followed her through the water.

"Through all of yesterday evening, sat in the most romantic spot _ever_?" He pushed again, feeling his own smile pulling at his cheeks.

She had reached the edge of the finger of light stretching out from Salisbury's windows across the water. She turned to look at him directly, her expression shifting as he neared her. He thought he saw a frown, a wince of embarrassment as well maybe, but also something that mirrored his own disbelief and an awareness of a new tension in the air between them. Only it wasn't the heavy smothering tension from the last week, where both of them had been on tenterhooks, not moving too close and not really knowing what to say to each other.

This was now a light, sparkling kind of feeling, and as he locked his gaze with hers, he was almost certain he saw something open and inviting there.

"Yes," she replied to his question, and it held a question of her own as much as her definite answer.

He slowed to a stop directly in front of her, consciously aware of how close he was from her, what it said.

She was single.

Potential crackled through his thoughts and veins, pulling and teasing him towards a hope that was suddenly very real. Looking into her eyes now, he thought she looked slightly surprised, and maybe, just maybe, a little hopeful too?

The light across the water shifted next to them and they both glanced round. The long stretch of artificial light out from Salisbury's window had a shadow moving through it. John's attention snapped back to the mission, especially as he realised that he and Teyla really were completely in view. The shift of shadow through the light had been by one of the two guests in Salisbury's living room walking in front of a lamp, and John recognised both of them instantly.

"It's just Teresa and that's Terry," John reported.

Teyla nodded as she watched alongside him. "I saw him briefly with you at the golf course," she replied quietly.

John wondered when she had been watching him, liked that she had been, but he kept his eyes rooted on the villa. Salisbury stood with his back to the windows, further back towards his kitchen, whilst Teresa stood to one side, and Terry was sat on the couch, looking as worriedly attentive as usual.

John was aware that his heart was beating a little too fast, and there was no way simply spying on some possible criminals was the reason why. Though he kept his eyes on Salisbury's turned back with a cautiousness born of recognising a dangerous adversary, the rest of him was acutely aware of Teyla next to him. Was she standing closer to him or was it just his imagination?

"Surely Annette must be unaware of his affair with Teresa, to let her into their villa so willingly," Teyla whispered so lightly that her voice was almost lost to the breeze and the sound of the surf, but he heard her. He also thought he could hear some annoyance on her part for Annette, or at Annette for ignoring the 'other woman' in her villa.

Annette was nowhere to be seen, but there was a light on upstairs. "It does look like a business meeting," he replied. There were files stacked up on Salisbury's coffee table and Teresa was gesturing to them.

Beyond the table, Salisbury began to turn, responding to something Teresa was saying.

John tensed up, reaching out towards Teyla next to him, ready to beat a hasty retreat. The warmth of her bare arm under his hand was a sharp source of heat and distraction, but he kept his eyes on Salisbury. A delicate brush of sensation against his shirt registered as Teyla's hand settling on his upper arm, ready herself to move away at a moment's notice. However, they hadn't been seen, so they both stayed where they were, the surf swirling around their legs.

"It must be Teresa or Terry's car," Teyla said softly, definitely closer to him now, and her voice had a faint waver to it that suggested she was feeling nervously cautious in their spying.

"Probably," John replied as they watched Teresa pick up a large plastic file from Salisbury's table, open it and begin gesturing over it as if she was upset about something. There was large lettering on the front of the file; he could almost make out what it said. "Can you see what the file's called?" He asked Teyla as he tilted his head and squinted into the light from the windows. He edged forward half a step, intent to make out what the file said.

Teyla's hand tightened on his arm slightly, but she moved forward with him. "Watch the light," she advised as they reached the threshold of the light's reach.

John smiled at the caution in her voice. "You were the one who thought this would be a good idea," he pointed out. "I think it starts with a T," he commented as he squinted harder towards Teresa and her file.

"Perhaps the zoom function on the camera will help," Teyla suggested softly.

"I think we could sell the newlywed couple cuddling in the surf, but taking photos of our neighbours through their window might be somewhat harder to explain," he replied, glancing towards her briefly.

"True," she replied. "They might misinterpret our interest."

He couldn't help smiling at that and glanced away from the villa again to look at her for just a second. She was definitely closer to him than before, but then they were poised together, ready to make a run for it if anyone spotted them.

"If they do, you're the one who's going to explain to O'Neill why we got thrown out of the resort," he whispered back, the sudden new playfulness making him feel light and hopefully again.

She let out a soft chuckle that ramped up the growing teasing excitement thrumming through his body. She wasn't with Kanaan.

Movement from the villa snapped his attention back in a split second. The door of the villa was opening and Annette was stepping out into the small porch.

John felt Teyla tense next to him, her hand gripping his upper arm tightly as they both watched Annette slowly moving out of her front door. They had been so intent on the activity in the living room that neither of them had noticed Annette appear from nowhere.

She wasn't looking in their direction, but from the way she was turning she would see them in a second and there was no way she was going to miss them.

He jumped into action, pulling hurriedly back away from the reach of the light, the surf swirling around his knees, and his hand tight on Teyla's arm to pull her with him. She was already moving with him though, her hand still on his arm as they quickly scurried away as fast as they could through the water, into the darkness back down the beach.

He felt a rush of almost silly childishness in that moment, running away as casually as possible, Teyla at his side, chuckling with him into the night. He also realised that somewhere in the last few seconds, his hand had slipped down from her arm and he was now holding her hand as they quickly waded back the way they had come. He heard her chuckle again as they looked back over their shoulders to check if they had been seen.

It didn't look like Annette had spotted them because she was wandering across her lawn, probably to the garbage bins, so John turned his attention to Teyla. She was grinning and shaking her head at their antics.

She looked amazing, the new faint moonlight across the dark sky glowing across her bare arms and shoulders, her hair gradually falling down from being pinned back so that tendrils of it were falling in wisps around her neck. Her hand was warm in his hand, and a full powerful urge roared through him. It was an urge unchained and newly aware of her single status, of the weeks and months lost in crazy pretence that he wasn't jealous, and that he hadn't been desperately wanting something far too emotionally powerful for him to admit. Yet, that future vision had teased him with the fulfilment of what he had been ignoring. Confirming what he really wanted, and what he really felt.

He couldn't ignore it all anymore in that moment, sliding through the water, the moonlight, and the darkness with her. There was suddenly nothing in the way anymore, there was just what he felt, what he wanted, and the promise, even faint, that she might be feeling something even half as strong.

He had had enough of waiting and hiding what he felt.

He slowed in their hurrying, and pulled on her hand to draw her to a stop with him. As she stopped, looking back at him with the beginnings of a questioning look, he stepped in towards her and reached out with his free hand, sliding his fingers into the dark space between the tendrils of her hair and her jaw.

Warm smooth skin filled his palm as he cupped her cheek and, in the fast flowing moment, he dipped his head and pressed his mouth to hers.

00000  
TBC


	8. Desire

**CHAPTER EIGHT – DESIRE**

The world stopped around her, everything slipping away from her awareness except for the heavy press of his lips on hers and the heat of his body barely a breath away from her.

For a shocked moment she held still, processing the abrupt contact, the flood upon her senses and the heat of his hand still tight around hers.

And then, her mind caught up with her, and with a sharp in-breath through her nose, she reached up with her free hand and touched down against the soft fabric over his warm chest. This was her and John.

She had dared not hope before, when he had seemed in disbelief that she and Kanaan were not currently together. It had never occurred to her that he, and her other friends, might not understand her and Kanaan's parting. Only, clearly John had been surprised by the news, or perhaps shocked would have been a more accurate description. At first, she had feared his response to be what she had feared the most from those in Atlantis – that they would judge her harshly for parting from the father of her child. She had learnt that many of John's people did not look favourably on parents being unmarried, let alone parting from one another. She had felt almost certain that her friends did not feel that way, but on hearing that he had not known the truth of her break with Kanaan, she had felt a sudden fear that his good opinion of her would be altered. Only, then he had made almost jokingly shocked comments about her being 'available' all this time, especially over the last week and yesterday's walk to watch the sunset. Such attention to those particular events surely meant something. Though she had not received a clear answer, since the mission had pulled back their focus, but now, away from the incriminating closeness to Mr Salisbury's villa, John had revealed the truth without her asking.

The surprise of his action, abrupt and passionate, captured her almost as intensely as his kiss.

His mouth was a solid pressure upon hers, a statement of the connection that she had sensed for so long between them, but the kiss also felt like a query. In his kiss, she knew that they had stepped over a line that could never be ignored again. With their 'future' visions it had been almost too easy to set aside what they had experienced, but this was real, this was unavoidable and a change that they would not be able to undo or ignore.

She sensed that same knowledge in him, as she had in almost all first kisses, but with John, it was different. It felt monumental, and frightening in a way she had not experienced before.

Her held breath almost out, she felt his lips begin to loosen against hers, and felt the faintest extra tension in him.

He had acted, and now the moment was passed, and now over that crossed line, he awaited the consequences. She realised that in this long held moment, she had done nothing other than touch her hand to his chest, so surprised, thrilled and nervous had she been.

His lips parted from hers, just that first fraction of departure, and she felt instantly bereft of him and afraid he did not understand her response. So, she lifted her chin higher, following his lips, and their mouths met again. She pressed her lips tight to his, lifting up on her toes and leaning her weight slightly against him so that she seemed to press her entire body into the kiss.

It was as hard a kiss as his first one had been – so forceful a meeting that she could almost feel the press of his teeth through their flattened lips. She knew she was showing a desperateness in it that at any other time she might have shied from exhibiting, but here, in the darkened beach with him, she stood on a precipice where it was now or never in which to make her feelings plain.

His fingers tightened at the back of her neck, holding her into their kiss, whilst his other hand released hers and slipped up over her shoulder.

Joy, hope, and a rising pleasure poured through her at the feel of his hand sliding up the side of her neck to cup her other cheek. Held in both his hands, his lips softening against hers, she grasped handfuls of his shirt, her eyes tightly shut as their mouths began to move against one another. He angled his mouth against hers, fitting them together with a softer and more animated kiss.

She parted her lips under his immediately, an action of pure desire to taste him and share the deepest of kisses with him as quickly as possible. Their tongues met in an open, intensely intimate kiss, which left nothing hidden about the true nature of what could exist between them.

She felt a powerful rush of arousal through her body, melting something inside that she could not name, and untying a deep honest passion in her that let her continue the long slide of achingly honest kisses. They had stepped over the line, so it was far too late to hide now, to deny, so instead she continued to throw her entire self into the moment. She grasped higher handfuls of his shirt, leaning her weight into him.

If Mr Salisbury himself were to walk right past them now she would not have noticed. Nothing existed but the overpowering kiss, which chased away the very last cobwebs of doubt or question in her mind. John's tongue slid against hers with a thoroughness that chased it all away, and in return, she conveyed the same. In this kiss, she expressed all that she had felt but had never spoken before. All the affection and love poured out of her into her hands and mouth, and, through it all, she felt she was receiving the same. Somehow, his kiss told her how much it meant to him, how much she meant to him, and that heartfelt communication seeped into her, dissolving away barriers that she had no hope of rebuilding whilst he was touching her.

The kiss slid to an end almost abruptly in comparison to the timeless place in which they had been, and as their mouths untangled, she realised her thoughts had drifted far away, leaving her feeling soft, slow, and yet acutely present. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, his hands still framing her face with a protective caring warmth. As he pulled back enough that she could see all of his face, she thought he looked a little stunned himself. Then he smiled. She smiled back up at him, truly allowing herself to admire how handsome he was, and how wonderful it was to feel his thumbs lightly caress her skin so affectionately.

For a long moment, they held each other's gaze, his hands still warm against her skin. She held his gaze, looking right into his eyes, feeling the rush of joyous pleasure to see the same reflected back at her. This was John, looking down at her so softly, so openly, before his eyes lowered to her lips. She leant in towards him, meeting his mouth for another soft kiss. It seemed to be an answer to a conversation they had been exchanging silently, a seal confirming the reality of it. But perhaps there had needed to be no words – what was there to say? His kiss, his touch, gentle and softly arousing, told her enough. She had never been kissed so carefully, and neither had she so willingly lost herself into a kiss before.

In the distance, a car engine started up through the silent air and the repetitive sound of the ocean.

John's lips parted from hers, and she opened her eyes as she processed the sound of the car close by. John looked round over his shoulder, and she tilted her head, leaning her cheek further into the heat of one of his hands, to see for herself the sweeping motion of a car's headlights.

"They're leaving," John said commented as they watched, through the breaks in the trees and shrubs, the car drive away down the road.

Teyla leant further to one side, her hands supporting her against John's body, to see that the front of the Salisburys' villa was now absent of the formally parked car. "Teresa or Terry's car," she suggested.

"Yeah," John replied, one of his hands slipping from her cheek to slide over her bare shoulder as he looked back round at her. "Your cuddling ploy worked," he reported with a smile.

She chuckled at that, understanding from the pointed turn of phrase and eye contact that he did not only mean their excuse if they were to be caught. He playfully implied it had been her intention to seduce him.

She slid her hands from his upper chest, the soft cotton shirt parting from her fingertips as he looked back round towards the villa as the light stretching out through the windows abruptly shut off, plunging the beach into further darkness.

The presence of the water rolling around her legs registered fully on her awareness again and it felt cooler now, seeping up her legs. John seemed to sense her new discomfort, his hands sliding down her upper arms as he looked back to her.

"Getting cold?" He asked.

"The water is cooling," she replied, for the air itself against her skin was still thickly warm.

"Yeah, we've been in here a while," he replied with a smile.

They both turned together towards the beach, and as they moved forward, his hand slid down to hers. She interlinked her fingers with his, smiling with deep satisfaction. Silently they walked the short distance to the beach, his forearm brushing enjoyably against hers now that they were walking so much closer.

She looked away to the villas again as more solid sand began to meet the soles of their shoes.

"Maybe Teresa's in on the whole thing," John suggested beside her, his voice pitched low in case anyone was out walking so late who might overhear them.

"Perhaps, but if she spends most of her time working here at the resort, I would imagine she would be busy enough," she considered out loud, surprised but enjoying the way they had slipped back into work conversation, yet now walking closer, holding hands. Strangely it felt like the most natural thing in the world now hold his hand.

"Unless his contacts meet here," John suggested.

She angled her head in agreement. "It would be an ideal environment, with so many visitors on the island, such contacts would go unnoticed. Do you not think Terry could be involved as well?" She asked as she paused once they stepped clear of the reach of the surf, John stopping with her. Her sandals had an uncomfortable mix of sand and water in them, so balancing on one leg, and using John's hand for some extra support, she slipped off one sandal and shook it.

"He could be," John replied, but she could tell that he was not convinced. "I just don't see Salisbury trusting him that much."

She could understand that. She slipped her sandal back on and then balanced on the other foot to pull the other sandal free. "He does seem a rather contained and unapproachable man," she summarised from her one brief introduction to Jeff Salisbury. He had kissed the back of her hand in greeting, but she had sensed a coldness behind his eyes as he had smiled at her.

"I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him," John replied, using an Earth phrase she particularly enjoyed.

She smiled at him as she shook her sandal free of sand, but the clasp had come loose at the back, so she released John's hand to fix it, walking up the last stretch of the damp sand with one foot bare. She saw John smiling down at her feet as she fixed the clasp and replied, "I agree with you. I have no trouble believing what Mr Woolsey and the IOA discovered in their future visions."

Further up the beach now, she dropped her sandal to the sand and bent down to secure it properly around her foot.

"Shame they couldn't see how he got the information," John added.

She smiled at his tone that implied that he thought the IOA representatives who had had future visions had not paid enough attention, but she decided not to point out how they had both themselves failed to provide anything 'useful' for Earth or the IOA.

"We are aware of him now at least," she reassured him as she stood upright, sandals in place and comfortable enough once more.

John's hand slid across her lower back as she did so, the caress smooth and inviting. She looked round as he stepped closer to her, his eyes rising up her body to meet her eyes.

"Have I mentioned how good you look in that dress," he said quietly, his tone very new to her in its deep seductive nature, and it thrilled her just as much as his nice compliment.

"No, you have not," she replied as she turned fully round towards him, and he moved right up close to her again, his body blocking the breeze from the ocean behind him. She had slipped her bag from around her body, intent to carry it over one shoulder, but she simply dropped it to the sand now and as both his hands slid around her back.

She had a moment to take an excited pleasured breath before he lowered his head and she lifted up to meet him, sliding her own hands up and over his shoulders. She closed her eyes to the darkness and the deeper shadow of him leaning into her as their mouths met once more.

There was already familiarity growing now, the initial shock of actually kissing him having faded enough that she could purely enjoy him. He seemed so much taller and broader now that she was right up so close to him, and his scent filled her senses so that she felt almost intoxicated by him. She slid her palms up his shoulders, glorying in the feel of him, so lean, yet so muscular and strong. Lured by touching him so pleasurably, she slid her hands up further, finding his skin above the collar of his soft shirt. She clasped the back of his neck and pressed herself slightly closer to him, once more throwing herself into the thorough enjoyment that it was to kiss him without any feelings of caution or status. This was John, who she already cared for so deeply, and whose warm hands slid further around her back, encouraging her even closer to him. She was more than willing to press closer against the warm temptation of his body heat.

Their kiss shifted slightly as their bodies moved closer, his arms around her and the heat of his body surrounding her. She ran her hands down around his shoulders so that she could lean her upper body right up against his. The feel of his broad chest against her was more stimulating than she had ever experienced before in such circumstances, and a rushing excitement sparkled through her breasts and down through her body, abruptly accelerating her sense of arousal. She might have attempted to control herself a little at such a point, but John took a sharp breath between their soft long kisses and suddenly she was aware of his own heightening arousal, for his next kiss felt so different. Pleasure shot through her, melting any tiny thoughts of restraint, as he angled his mouth against hers sliding and biting in a new way. She caught tight hold of the back of his shirt and she rose up a little higher on her toes to return his more raw and seductive kiss.

His hands had begun to caress around her back, one now sliding up her spine to press between her shoulder blades, holding her even closer to him as he leant further against her, pressing them entirely together from their thighs to their mouths. She felt the unmistakable evidence of his mutual feeling of heightening arousal in the ridge of pressure against her, and she boldly pressed fully against him. To keep their kiss going stood so close, she had dropped her head back and to one side to keep their mouths together, and one of his hands now cupped the back of her head in offered support. The feel of his hand clasping her hair as he deepened their kiss even further, drew out of her a long deep murmur. The sound seemed far away from her and she might have felt a moment of shyness at the sound, so wistful and vulnerably open, with another man, but with John it was a weak understatement as to how good he felt.

His free hand slid wide smooth caresses across her back, lingering now over the top of her backside, to slip lower, emphasising the press of their groins against one another. There was nothing to be misinterpreted about what this was between them and she felt a thrill at how abruptly they were throwing themselves into this aspect, letting their kisses build and pull them forward. Every cell of her body was aching to follow the sensual promise between them. Her breasts felt full and hot against his chest, but desperately unattended. She could feel the tightness of her nipples against the material of her dress and the press of his chest, and it was now not enough. Deep in her belly, aching between her legs, a louder need grew only stronger, and a whimper escaped between their kiss.

His hands moved around her, holding her tight to him, and then he was lifting her slightly, lowering, and she reached back to support herself as the warm sand of the beach met her back and then her shoulders as she laid back with a long rushing sigh as their mouths parted. She still had tight hold of the back of his shirt and she pulled him down with her, though he had been following her, the full shape and weight of his body hovering over hers, and his mouth slid across her jaw to bury into her throat just under her ear.

She ran her fingers up into his hair as he kissed and sucked, teasing and building the rushing power of this arousing dance. She freed one hand to reach down his back, sliding down the length of him to find a slice of bare exposed skin. She slipped both her hands down to it, pulling up the back of his shirt enough so that she could spread her palms over his skin. He murmured into his next kiss down her throat, licking and sucking down to her collarbone. She sighed a moan of delight as one of his hands slid up her left side, up to the side of her breast. She arched her back and dug her fingers into his back as his mouth slipped down the front of her chest. He had understood her request, though clearly he had intended the same, for his fingers stretched and slid across the fabric over her breast, and it was the most shocking experience. She gasped in delight as he caught the edge of the neckline of her dress and pulled the close fabric aside enough that the night air rushed over her breast, to be closely followed by the wet hotness of his mouth.

She rolled her head back against the sand and squeezed her eyes tightly closed, every nerve ending and synapse focused on the amazing feel of his mouth around her nipple, teasing gently but thoroughly. She heard her own soft moans in the air and now they teased her onwards rather than potentially shying her away. She ran her hands over him, up his neck, into his hair, and down under his collar, touching and conveying to him how wonderful he felt. She arched up higher into his mouth as his hand slid back down her side, caressing a line of heat down to her hip, and she lifted her leg against his side.

He was knelt over her, one knee between hers, creating space enough for the ocean's breeze to slide over her left leg, down which his hand now slid. She lifted her knee into the caress, as his mouth slipped from her breast into her cleavage. She reached up to her own chest and pulled aside the other side of her dress enough to reveal her other breast to the night and him as his mouth nuzzled towards it. She ran her fingers into his hair tightly as he kissed her nipple as thoroughly as he had the first. She heard his heightened murmuring breathing as he kissed her, and his hand on her lifted knee tightened. She arched against him again, her body feeling desperately restless now.

His hand slid back up her left thigh, pushing the hem of her dress up and she heard herself gasp. His mouth lifted from her nipple for a moment, his breath teasing against the dampness left over the peak, but all her attention was on the promise of his hand now. She sensed a cautiousness for a second in his sliding palm as he reached her hip, her legs bared to the air now along with her breasts. Desperate to have his touch, she tightened her hands on him, and immediately his hand slipped down the inside of her leg and turned, so that suddenly the heat of his hand gently cupped between her legs. The heat of his hand over her most intimate of areas thrilled her intensely, but it was also suddenly a point at which some of the fog of excitement began to fade into sharper mental awareness. Perhaps he was experiencing the same, because he held still there, the heat of his hand seeping into her through her underwear, and his lips brushed gently now against the skin of her breast.

She opened her eyes to the night sky overhead and reached down to cup both sides of his neck in her hands, drawing him up enough to bring their mouths together again. He lifted his mouth from her breast and they shared a brief moment of dark intimate eye contact as he leant up over her to meet her kiss. He kept his hand still in the tight space between her legs, his palm pressed to her as she met his lips with hers.

The kiss was passionate still, but she could sense his own sharpening awareness returning in it as she had suspected. They were pulling back from the rushing direction they had been headed, but there was no sense of regret in their kiss. Instead there was a deep new connection of how close and ready they were to share the most intimate of experiences. She suspected that he too would not wish such a moment to be shared on a public beach, which she was now far more aware of around them. She smiled against their kiss, feeling a warmth suffuse through her even with the first touches of thought that perhaps there might be someone out walking along the beach. Their lips parted and she opened her eyes to glance around to the right, amused more than embarrassed at where they were. She felt John's equally amused breath as he looked the other way down the beach. Her hands, still around his neck, recorded the stretching of sinew and muscle as he looked further down the beach. She could tell that he hadn't seen anyone, just as she could not see any one down towards the villas.

"Don't worry, we're just a new couple cuddling on the beach," he whispered, clearly thoroughly enjoying the chance to use her former excuse to real effect. He pressed a kiss to her cheek and she looked back up at him with a smile.

He pressed his mouth fully to hers before she could respond though, and she understood it was one last slow kiss before they moved. She pulled his mouth tighter to hers as she enjoyed it.

Between her legs, his hand had rested against her inner thigh while they had checked the beach around them, but now, as they shared their last deep kiss, his hand once more gently cupped her. She drew her legs together enough to hold his hand there, communicating her pleasure and enjoyment of the warmth of him. She felt an undulation in his body though, telling her of his own controlled excitement, and then he pressed his fingers closer against her, finding the soft give of where her entrance ached just inside the barrier of her underwear. It was the gentlest of pressures, but it was spectacularly groundbreaking, his intent and desire communicated even more completely in that moment. She lifted her pelvis a fraction into the touch, communicating her own.

There was no doubt that the last barriers were crumbling and she willingly celebrated their fall.

He broke their kiss abruptly and the pressure of his fingers lifted from against her. She opened her eyes to see the tension in him that she could feel under her hands – he had perhaps reached too aroused a state. His eyes were closed and she could not help smiling at his exaggerated wince as he took several deep breaths, lifting a fraction further up from her, his hands leaving her to hold him up over her as he regained control of his body.

She felt a rush of feminine confidence and pleasure to see him so nearly pushed to the edge of his control, all because of touching her. She must have chuckled at him, because he opened his darkened eyes and gave her a mocking glare.

"Are you alright?" She asked, surprised at her own sarcastic sensual teasing of him.

"I might need a minute," he replied very honestly in an amused, but slightly pained voice as he pushed himself up from her, though still leaning his warmth and shadow over her.

She smiled and nodded as she slipped her hands from around his neck and reached down to adjust her dress back into place, the hem back down her thighs and the front of her dress back over her breasts.

"That's not really helping," John muttered and she looked up at him to see his attention on her breasts as she settled their weight into the cups of the dress's internal support. She simply chuckled at him, enjoying the openness between them and the settling fact that this was real and so wonderful.

She sat up from the sand slowly, giving him time to sit back as well, and she set about brushing sand from her back as he knelt and took in a few breaths. She smiled at him as she climbed up to her feet, setting her hand on his shoulder to assist her, and his hand settled around her elbow to help, just as he had often been doing these last two days. She squeezed his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his temple before she moved away to collect up her bag that she had dropped a short distance away.

"I hope I did not get the camera wet," she worried as she picked up her bag noticing that the water had soaked slightly into the fabric.

"It's waterproof, it'll be fine," John assured her as he stood up.

Pleased she had not damaged the valuable device she shook the bag free of sand and hung the strap back over her shoulder as she returned to John's side.

She looked up at him, feeling the warm affection she normally felt for him multiplied to the point that she felt quite emotional. She took in a breath to centre herself as she took in his expression, which looked less pained now. She had only briefly glanced down at the front of his shorts and it seemed that he was in control again.

"Feeling better?" She asked him, trying not to sound amused.

He gave her a strange smile that she thought seemed slightly embarrassed, but it shifted into a more recognisable enjoyment as his gaze drifted over her face and then dipped down to her breasts. "I'll live," he replied as he reached out and she took his offered hand, delighting in the touch of warm interlinking fingers.

Smiling at him, she moved closer to him as they turned towards the villas and began the short walk home.

00000  
On to chapter 9...


	9. In the Darkness

**CHAPTER NINE – NAKED IN THE DARKNESS**

The night air was still overly warm as they crossed the silent road from the beach. Her hand was soft and wonderfully feminine in his, distracting him slightly as they walked through the stored heat emanating up from the road.

He watched at her walking beside him, though himself studying her face closely through the faintest moonlight, seeking out anything that might be worryingly like regret, but he saw nothing other than a soft smile making her beautiful face all the more stunning.

His gaze drifted to her lips, and the urge to kiss her again tempted him to stop their progress across the road. He would wait until they were inside this time.

And then what would happen?

He knew damn well what he wanted to happen, and from the way she had kissed him back on the beach, her sighs and murmurs still lingering in his ears, he was pretty certain that she wanted the same. She looked so cool and collected walking beside him, while his body was screaming in broken arousal and absolute excitement. She really wanted him and she had felt so amazing, so…

He pulled his eyes back away from her as they reached the end of their driveway and he paused for her to walk first up the path to the front door. Her shapely behind came into view as she accepted his offer to walk ahead of him with a smile. He kept hold of her hand as they headed towards the front door, replaying how they had left the clubhouse's restaurant earlier, but this time, he let his gaze linger over her backside and hips. She was talking to him about something, but the pumping of his blood was too loud for him to really pay attention. She looked to the left towards the Salisburys' villa though, so he forced himself to snap out of his Teyla trance long enough to check the next building over.

"I cannot see a vehicle parked back there from here," she was saying.

"If he's got a car it's probably parked right behind the house," he considered as they reached their front door, and he was rather pleased with his logical reasoning considering how hot his blood was pumping away from his brain.

Teyla pulled her hand from his as she opened her bag and began to search for the door key. "Perhaps, when it is light and we know they are out, we should walk back there," she suggested very quietly.

"Could do," he replied coming to a stop right next to her, pressing his shoulder to hers, eyes sliding over the elegant lines of her collarbones down to the dark shadow of her cleavage.

It was as if some sort of tap had been released and now he couldn't stop himself just staring at her openly, his mind replaying every sensation from back on the beach.

However, the heated memories aside, it was only now that he really began to process the enormity of what had happened. She had let him touch her…

The jangle of keys distracted his heated thoughts and he watched her smile victoriously at her discovery of the keys in her bag. Why was it all women could lose keys even in the smallest of bags? Even Teyla. Smiling at the thought, he watched her unlock the front door and followed her inside. She turned on the small lamp just inside the door, spreading gentle illumination through the dark villa.

He felt a nudge of caution then, his military mind snapping back into play. There was no reason to suspect that anyone in the resort had any suspicions about him and Teyla, but an entirely dark empty building still triggered his natural caution. He found himself listening intently, his eyes straying through the open plan ground floor to the base of the stairs leading up to the next floor. He heard nothing and realised that Teyla was moving very silently as she moved ahead of him into the living space. He saw her glance up towards the stairs and he realised she was following the same cautious nature as him. He was almost certain that there wasn't anyone upstairs, but it was always a good idea to check that no one had been snooping around.

She turned on another lamp, close to the main windows at the front, filling the ground floor with a low level of light, appropriate for how late it was, but it suddenly seemed more like mood lighting. He smiled at the thought of her setting up the romantic lighting as he closed the front door behind him and locked it.

Needing to follow through with his check upstairs though, he headed for the stairs. "I'm just gonna use the bathroom," he said to her, by way of an excuse to anyone that might be about, but truthfully he did need to pee. The prospect of a moment's solitude also seemed good. Just to allow him to process what had happened out in the surf and on the beach.

She looked at him as she moved through the living space and nodded with a knowing smile. They went through this check every time, but this time he wanted to make it clear why he was leaving the same room as her. He wouldn't want her to think he was running away from her or for the mood to be disturbed in anyway.

"Do you want anything to drink?" She asked as he headed up the stairs.

"I'm good," he replied as he met her gaze before she disappeared from view.

He tried not to hurry up the stairs, to play it casual as he did his checks and not obsess about what was going to happen next tonight. God, she had moaned and tasted so good…

He switched on the landing light and everything looked right. A quick check in the study/game room revealed an empty room and nothing had been moved among his things. He headed across the landing into the large bedroom, his eyes lingering on the large comfortable looking bed as he passed it. He was pretty sure he would be sleeping in it tonight, but he didn't want to get ahead of himself, just in case. He entered the bathroom and shut the door to answer the call of nature, and allow him a little space to let his thoughts run.

Which was in one particular direction.

He realised he wasn't all that sure of Athosian attitudes to sex – maybe she would want to wait three dates for all he knew. He would have to talk to her about any possible cultural differences, because they sure as hell had never talked about sex before, in fact it hadn't passed his notice that she rarely spoke about it at all. She had kept her last relationship quiet from them, and she hadn't even mentioned her break up. He was all for keeping things private in his life, but she had been exceptionally contained about it all, and he now wondered if he should read something into that. She sure hadn't been inhibited with him out in the surf - she had been the one to ramp up the kiss, pressing herself passionately to him in a way that had obliterated his restraint. Hell they had almost finished the act on a public beach for anyone to see. She certainly hadn't seemed reserved with him, so perhaps, just maybe, the reason why she hadn't talked about anything personal and relationship based around him was because of what she felt for him. Maybe, like him, she had wanted this for a long time. He was almost certain he was right, but he wasn't that great at reading women's intentions. They practically had to strip off in front of him, or state clearly to his face that they were single as Teyla had just done out on the beach.

He washed his hands in the sink and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked windswept and wild-eyed, probably because of his still roaring blood, the lingering shock, and a new nervous excitement. He set his hands on either side of the sink and shook his head at his reflection. He knew what the problem was that nervously played through him – he had just had what he had always wanted with her handed to him, abruptly, and he felt panicked that he was going to screw it up somehow. If ever he needed to say and do the right thing it was now.

Only, he hadn't needed to worry out there. Everything had just happened in a way that had been so natural, so open and easy that he hadn't had any doubts. He wanted that assurance back now with a desperate passion.

The assurance found in remembering the sensation of kissing her. Her mouth against his, her tongue tangling with his, her hands had been around the back of his neck, holding him to her equally as much as he had held her against him. There had been no doubt about her response to him then, or his for her. So why should it be any different inside the villa?

He turned from the sink and strode back across the bathroom. He headed out to the landing, but paused, and after the tiniest consideration, he slipped into the study again. He slipped off his shoes, brushing sand from the soles of his feet, and reached into his bag. Mattie had supplied them with everything a newly married couple would be expected to have with them on their vacation, which, he had noted on first inspection of the suitcase on that first day, included a full box of condoms. He had shoved them down into the far deep corner of his bag at the time, but now he pulled aside crumpled folded clothes and dug for the box. He had no idea how things would go with Teyla tonight, but he sure as hell was going to be prepared, especially if how they had left things on the beach was any indication.

He found the box and pulled it out, opening the top and praying that it hadn't just been for show and was actually full. Fortunately, Mattie had come through yet again. He pulled out two foil packets and shoved them into the deep side pocket of his shorts, and returned the box to his bag. He could hear the kettle boiling below in the kitchen as he left the study and headed down the stairs. He took a few deep steadying breaths, working to control his thoughts away from how tight these shorts had felt out on the beach. He needed to stayed relaxed and be cool.

He reached the bottom of the stairs and automatically looked out the side window that overlooked Salisbury's villa.

"It's all still dark over there," he noted as he turned away from the window and headed into the open plan ground floor.

His eyes immediately locked onto Teyla moving through the kitchen area with a steaming mug of tea in her hand. She was barefoot, like him, but that gorgeous dress was still wrapped around her, and he trailed his eyes over her, the desire rebuilding so fast that he struggled to appear casual as he moved to meet her at the edge of the kitchen area.

She set the mug down on the worktop and looked up at him with a smile as he reached her. Her smile seemed inviting, intimate, and slightly shy too, which all called to him as loudly as the simmering atmosphere intensifying around them.

He reached out one hand to her, touching her elbow, as he drew in the scent of her – Athosian spice, woman, and the ocean at night. He needed to touch and kiss her again with a roaring instinct that once more pushed aside his nervous caution enough to step right up close to her. Her wide dark eyes lifted up to his, and her lips parted with what he was certain was aroused anticipation. He lowered his mouth to hers, feeling her breath against his skin before he brushed his lips over hers. The line was already long past crossed, the door open between them, and he wasn't about to run away. There was only one way to be sure of what would happen now, and it seemed that when he was touching her, kissing her, it all made sense again. It all flowed, as did their mouths sinking into another deep smooth kiss.

Almost immediately, something changed. Maybe it was the taste of each other again, or that they hadn't really cooled off from where they had left things out on the beach, but suddenly there was a hunger in the kiss once more. He knew that half of it was because of him, and feeling emboldened, he angled his head and slid his tongue deeply into her mouth, sliding wetly over hers. He felt a shudder pass through her, felt her lean closer, her hands grasping the front of his shirt again. He slid his hands off her arms, around her sides, and smoothly over her ribs round to her back. He pulled her gently towards him, needing that full body contact again, aching to feel the tight press of her nipples against him once more.

Excitement blazoned in his chest as her body met against his. The feel of her soft full breasts and tightened nipples against him broke a deep murmur of pleasure from him, and destroyed all his fears. He wrapped his arms around her fully, holding her tighter to him, almost crushing her against him, but she didn't seem to mind because her hands were under his shirt again, her nails grazing against the skin of his back. Breathing harder around their rapid deep kisses, he ran his hands over her, exploring, delighting and caressing as much as he could, celebrating in the curves of her waist, her hips, and her backside. He cupped the globes of her backside and she rubbed herself into his hold, which consequently also rubbed her belly against his returning erection. He felt as much as heard her moan as she lifted up on her toes, pressing their mouths harder together in a long kiss that quickly stole his breath.

Their lips parted, both of them drawing in oxygen, and he blinked rapidly to try and force some blood into his brain and stop the threatening light-headedness. Her fingers slid against his cheek, her fingertips light teasing points of warmth along his jaw to his chin. He dipped his head forward to bring his forehead against hers, listening to her drawing in her own fast breaths. He opened his eyes a fraction to watch her lick her full swollen lips, and he tightened his hands on her hips.

Things were more than ready to move forward, and he could feel the subtle rocking of her hips and back that told him she wanted him. Knowing that, he really struggled to control himself, to not just strip her dress off her and seek out that moist deep warm place between her legs that he had only briefly touched before. She wanted him in there, he was sure of it, but he held still, holding her, working to keep control a little longer so that if she wasn't ready for more he could step back.

She let out a loud sighing breath as her forehead slid against his, and her nose brushed his, her lips grazing against his. He met her kiss, losing himself into the wet smooth sliding, sucking and biting exchange. Her hands were sliding further under his shirt, pulling it upwards whilst he slid his hands down her back. The fabric of his shirt all bunched up under his arms, he reluctantly released her to reach down for it, but she was helping him already by pulling the shirt upwards. He tugged the shirt up off over his head with a chuckle, "It has buttons you know," he pointed out as he chucked it away and reached for her again.

He saw her smile, but her eyes were on his stomach and chest, and as he returned his hands to the swells of her hips, he was thrilled to see that she liked what she saw of him. Her hands gliding up both sides of his chest, her gaze slowly lifted up to meet his. Her eyes were deep dark pools now, entirely black and he barely stopped himself from growling with pleasure as he dropped his mouth to hers forcefully, pulling her right up against his bare chest.

He turned them, walking her back the two steps to a kitchen unit until he felt the cooler edge of the worktop meet the back of his hands, at which point he slid his hands lower and scooped her up. She understood his plan for she released him with one hand and slid her backside up onto the work surface. He almost trapped his hands between her butt and the worktop, but he pulled them free slowly at the last moment as he crowded up against her. Her knees parting around his hips, as he leant into her body warmth once more.

She tensed then however, pulling her mouth away. "The hot tea," she warned, looking to her side. He had forgotten she had had a drink around here somewhere, so he pulled back just enough to take in the worktop on either side of her shapely hips. The mug was only a foot away, steaming still. He reached for it and moved it further away, her hands sliding across his shoulders, but about to release the mug, he decided it was still too close for what they were up to, so he moved it even further away. She chuckled at that, the sound deep and womanly. He turned his full attention back to her, crowding in further against her, his eyes sliding over her sat in that flattering dress.

Her hands were exploring his chest, and her fingers settled on his nipples, sending lightening shots of pleasure through his already overheated body. She circled her fingertips over them and so he reached up and cupped her breasts through the thin fabric barrier of her dress. She leant into his hands, putting more of the fuller weight of her breasts in his hands and he smiled at her willingness for his touch. He lifted them slightly, massaging, and she moaned lightly, her fingers drifting down from his own nipples. He slid his hands up her chest though, following the two straps that secured the dress up behind her neck. He had already noticed earlier that they were secured in a tight bow. She lifted her chin, exposing more of her throat to him as he tugged at the end of the bow at the nape of her neck and the two straps loosened. He pulled them slowly forward and watched the front cups of the dress fall forward, exposing her breasts fully.

"Teyla," he whispered reverently as he leant forward and once again brushed his lips down over the upper swell of one of breast. Her hands slid around his neck and her knees pressed against his hips as he gently surrounded one nipple with his lips and drew it deeply into his mouth. Her shaky deep moan was like music to his ears.

Her hands caressed over his shoulders as he licked and sucked, taking his time to be thorough and enjoy every single moment, the flexing of her back in his hands confirming how much she liked what he was doing. He slid his mouth across to her other nipple and repeated his worship, only this time he slid his hands around her sides and hips, which only made her arch her back and breath louder against him. She was losing it, sighing with delight and murmuring his name as he trailed his hands down her thighs on either side of him, following the toned lines from hip to knee and back again. When her knees widened, he pulled his mouth from her, nuzzling into her cleavage and upwards, licking up between the points of her collarbones into the tiny dip at the base of her throat. He felt her swallow against his lips, her hands tight around the back of his neck and in his hair.

He ran his hands back up her thighs, but this time pushing the hem of her dress upwards, right up to her hips, and she lifted her backside from the worktop so that his palms met the outer lacy edges of her underwear. He could smell her musky aroused scent now and it called to a deep primal part of him that practically roared to bury himself into her. But, he didn't want to just yet, not yet…

He lifted his mouth from her throat to look down between their close bodies to see the parted top of her thighs. He ran his hands over her bare toned thighs into that warm space between them, grazing against her through her underwear again. He was aware he was breathing heavily but so was she. In a surprising move, her hands slid into his view and she caught the top of her underwear and began pushing the material down, exposing her lower belly and then the triangle of her hair. He met her hands, taking over as he stepped back enough to pull the lacy underwear down her shapely legs, and he dropped the delicate fabric aside. He ran his hands up her entirely naked and parted legs and stepped back between them, lifting his gaze up to meet hers, struck once more at how unbelievable this was.

This was really happening.

Her hands were sliding around his shoulders again, her eyes darkly hooded, and her breaths were pushing out through her full parted lips. He ran one hand around the outside of her thigh, supporting her, as he ran his other fingers up the inside of her other thigh. He watched her face as his fingers brushed past her parted outer lips, and then met the wet hot swollen flesh around her opening. She groaned along with him. He leant in and pressed his mouth to hers quickly, capturing her whisper of his name.

He gently circled his fingers against her, overwhelmed by the wetness, all for him, and the tempting rim of her opening. She rocked her pelvis, her eagerness peaking with him, but in that moment, he knew that he had to see her come first. He wanted this to last as long as was possible and if he had to stop and start all night to keep himself from coming, then he would. He pulled his mouth from hers as he circled her flesh again, exploring the intimate folds with a new focus, but which clearly scattered her own. Her hand grasped onto his forearm in something close to begging him to stop and urging him deeper. He softened his touch just in case, but she murmured and he felt the quiver through her. She was so close. He pressed the tip of one finger into her inviting parting flesh and felt her engulf him. She murmured as he slid his finger deeper, pausing only to retreat and caress back, spreading her wetness and feeling her inner walls part for him. She felt magnificent.

He pulled back a little further from her so that he could watch his finger slid back into her and then he looked back up to watch her head roll back, her breasts arching upward as she held tightly onto him. She was obviously enjoying how he touched her, the passion flushing through her body, but he sensed a quivering restraining tension in her too. He wondered if Kanaan had taken his time with her like this, maybe she wasn't used to letting go completely, or perhaps she just didn't want to come just yet.

"You okay?" He whispered against her cheek, needing to be sure.

"Yes, oh, John," she panted back, her body vibrating with the barely restrained control. He slid two fingers up into her, retreated and then repeated, mimicking what he wanted to be doing inside her. His hard on was painfully tight inside his shorts, but he could wait. There was nothing more he wanted than to give her an earth shattering orgasm, to watch her feel all the pleasure she could. He caressed his fingers up into her over and over, her wetness spreading and coating him, and her sighs became longer and her hands tighter on his sides.

"More, John," she begged breathily, "more," she repeated, parting her legs.

He pushed his fingers deeper and faster and felt her inner walls tightening, clasping him. Her hand clamped around the back of his neck, holding herself upright against him, as he added a third finger into her tight space, stretching her wide enough for him now, but he was determined not to enter her yet. He gloried in the sight of her, so open, so emotionally exposed, and yet he still saw the struggle in her. Maybe she really wasn't all that good at letting go, but he would help her. He wanted her to feel it, to enjoy the experience, and to know that there were absolutely no barriers between them anymore.

He felt the tremors passing through her, knew she was still so achingly close, and with a sudden driving desire, he pulled his fingers from her, dropped to his knees, and pressed his mouth into the open parted wet oval of her womanhood. Her hands gripped his hair sharply, her inner thighs hot and scented on either side of his head, as he licked his tongue up into her. She came hard and fast against his mouth, her cries high and echoing, and he rode with her all the way.

Her thighs relaxed from around him, her body loose in her aftermath, and he nuzzled out of her centre. The taste of her was so elemental, so 'her' in a way he couldn't have known before, that he felt himself almost come. He rested his cheek against the inside of her thigh and forced his thoughts quickly onto dark dangerous things, chasing back the near miss. He mentally ran through the corridor layout outside his quarters in Atlantis, remembered the biting cold of an ocean crash, the sting of Antarctica's freeze, and his body responded, easing back from the precipice.

00000

She had never experienced anything as exquisitely pleasurable as his touch and then his mouth upon her.

The only ways she had made love before were in the sleeping area of a tent, begun with a clear mind and purpose to share. She had lain on a bed or upon a rug, and enjoyed lovemaking before, exploring and sharing pleasure. However, now she knew that those joinings had been pale almost intellectual exercises compared to the wild raw intimacy of sharing her body with a man who aroused her with just a smile and a kiss.

His body, bare-chested, had filled her vision as she had allowed the most intimate of touches, only he had explored deeper and with such focus that she had felt scattered into the winds of bliss. His touch had fulfilled something so basic, yet also such a weak example of what was to come between them, only he had seemed in no rush for that. His kisses on her skin, his fingers and thumb teasing, had given in a way that had threatened to split her apart whilst sat half-naked upon a worktop. She had fleeting moments to wish to reach for him, to return the pleasuring giving, but he had only given more, stealing her focus entirely. Just when she had felt the first promises of release, pulling her towards ultimate satisfaction, he had dropped down and pressed his mouth to her most intimately, and she had lost all control. It was the most shockingly arrived peak of bliss and she embraced it thoroughly now, letting it shake her body through as she gripped a tight hold on John.

How could there be any restraint or walls behind which to hide after such an experience.

She reached down to where he breathed soft kisses against her inner thigh, calling him back up to her with her touch. His eyes lifted to hers as he ran his hands up her legs, and it no longer seemed to register as unusual that she was most intimately exposed to him. His smile, as he began to stand, held a satisfied sensual delight that she found thrilling, which was only more apparent as he bent forward and pressed a kiss to her lower belly as he stood, then another just under the line of where her dress had been pushed up. Her dress was now a band of fabric only around her middle and suddenly it was in the way. She sat up fully upright once more and reached round to her side where the tiny concealed zipper held the dress closed around her middle. She worked it down as John pressed a kiss to one of her breasts and then the other, before his cheek brushed hers, drawing her into a long deep kiss. She forgot her dress throughout it.

What she was very much aware of during the kiss, was that he was vibrating with arousal, his shoulders tense under her hands where before they were loose with enjoyment. Now, she could feel the tight bow of tension within him, aching to release. She wished desperately to help him, to give to him the pleasure that he had given to her, but she suspected that it would take little to tip the balance for him now. His kiss conveyed that need in him, his breathing broken, and his hands gripping her hips tightly as he leant against her, the ridge of his arousal against her core. She ran her hands down his chest and belly, down to the closure of his shorts. She worked them free with minimal effort, but as they loosened to drop easily from his hips, he broke their kiss and reached down to them. She watched him pull something out of a pocket and, with a roll of his hips, the fabric dropped to the floor, exposing his straining full erection. She reached between their bodies and slid her touch against him, gently and carefully, yet still he sucked in a sharp breath. She heard the breaking of metal foil and saw the small packet appear between them, held in his near shaking hands. Understanding his intent, she released him with a soft caress, and ran her hands instead around his naked hips, enjoying the swell of muscle as she watched him slip on the protective sheath. The reality of what they were about to enjoy was not as shocking as before, now it was a glorious excited promise.

The foil packet set aside, his hands were on her again, one hand slipping down between her legs. She pulled him to her by his hips as she sat forward against him, seeking his mouth with hers and she lifted her knees high on either side of him. His body felt so strong, so lean and powerful between her arms and legs. His mouth moved slower against hers this time though, his awareness of the monumental moment upon him as well. She pulled him even closer, and his fingers parted her intimate flesh for the full press of his arousal.

She paused at the contact, parting her mouth from him, and she looked up to see him watching her, his eyes wide and almost shocked as he pushed slowly and so carefully into her.

He stretched her deliciously, retreating briefly to push deeper, easing her for him, and she leant back from him slightly to tilt her pelvis forward to assist his welcome invasion. He groaned as he pushed deep into her, filling her entirely, and bringing their groins together in a tight press that brought the rest of their bodies entirely together for the first time.

She wrapped her arms and legs around him, adjusting herself to accommodate him more comfortably, and his hands ran down her backside to assist her. His breathing was ragged now, broken with a groan as he rested his forehead against her temple. She suspected he wished to draw this out for longer, but it was clear to her that he was too aroused, too pushed to his limits.

She reached up and cupped his jaw, encouraging him to pull back enough to look at her. She smiled at him softly, stroking either side of his chin with her thumbs. He was so handsome, so wonderfully fulfilling, and so beautiful to her. She pressed a soft light kiss to his full lips and rocked her hips, beginning their rhythm for him. He let out a heavy sigh of pleasure as he drew partly out of her and then slid back deeply inside, and repeated the motion slowly and deliberately. She held tight hold around the back of his neck and his hip, moving with him and maintaining their closeness. She pressed kisses to his cheek and lips and murmured as he initiated a deep penetrative kiss.

A sudden loud roar snapped her senses from their single focus on John. He froze with her, their mouths popping apart, and she saw sudden movement outside the window across the room.

She angled her head around John's shoulder. "A car," she reported breathily. "Next door."

John twisted to look over his shoulder towards the side window that overlooked the Salisburys' villa. "Where?"

"It drove up their driveway, around to the back of the house maybe," she suggested. It was pitch black outside, and even inside their own villa, the two lamps that were on barely lit the interior against the darkness. However, she realised that would not have stopped anyone passing by outside from having seen her and John inside.

"Great, _now_ he meets his contact," John muttered with a mix of bemused bitterness.

"It might be them returning, we did not see if they had left with Teresa and Terry," she replied very softly as if their talking might be overheard.

There was the unmistakable sound of a car door shutting outside. "Whoever it is will pass by our window," she realised, not just because it would allow them to see who it was, but that it would also mean that their lovemaking would be witnessed.

John pulled from her as she pushed herself off the edge of the worktop, both of them hiding once again this evening. They both dropped down behind the next kitchen worktop, to peer up over it to see a dark shadow pass along next door's driveway. The outline had been of a man, but she hadn't been able to make out any details from so far away from the window.

"Salisbury?" She asked quietly.

"Don't think so," John replied from where he was more openly stood at the worktop, his bare chest not all that revealing if he was seen. She realised that her dress was hanging loose around her hips, so she roughly pushed it down the rest of the way, glad to be free of it now. She peered carefully up over the top of the worktop across to the window and then up at John.

He was grinning down at her, so she glared up at him. "Where is the camera?" She asked.

"You had it in your bag," John replied far too logically and still grinning at her.

She peered further out at the kitchen and spotted where she had put the camera when she had removed it from her bag. She would have remembered had she not been naked and hiding. "Is he still out there?" she asked as she worked her way along behind the kitchen unit, keeping one arm over her breasts, as she headed towards the camera.

"He's around the front," John replied with more focus in his voice now.

She reached the end of the kitchen unit on top of which the camera rested and, keeping herself behind the breadbin, she reached up for it. She activated the camera as she dropped back down behind the kitchen unit. If the man was at the front of the next villa, then the only way to see him now was from the windows in the living area. She peered out from behind the kitchen unit and, keeping low, headed into the living area. There she switched off the lamp next to one couch, dropping the villa into near darkness. The lamp near the front door was still alight. However, now feeling more concealed, she moved less cautiously through the living space, her eyes adjusting to the darkness to see that there was no one out in the road to see her. She hunkered down lower as she slipped behind the higher backed couch, and beyond which the window afforded a view of the front of Mr Salisbury's villa.

Where she could see the new arrival, a man for sure, was stood on the porch, waiting as if expecting the door to open. The villa however remained dark.

Movement to her right heralded John's arrival at her side, his hand touching her arm gently to let her know he was there. "He's not worried about being seen if he's using the front door," he noted softly as his other hand settled on her back and he leant closer to her so that he could see further through the window. The man's arrival had been badly timed for them, but it was not to be missed. This could be the contact General O'Neill had sent them here to identify.

Teyla squinted through the darkness towards the man stood outside Salisbury's front door, but it was difficult to make out his features when it was so dark. "It is not Terry, is it?" She considered.

John leant closer and further forward over the top of the couch, squinting himself. "No, it's not Terry," he replied with certainty. "He's squared shouldered and a good few inches shorter."

Teyla judged the man's height by the height of the front door outside of which he stood.

A light abruptly flared to life in the Salisbury villa. She and John ducked down lower behind the couch.

"This is becoming a bad habit," John whispered with a grin, which she could just about see in the low light.

"We need to get a picture of him," she whispered back to him with a smile of her own. "At least then it will be worth the interruption."

"Nothing's worth this kind of interruption," John muttered.

Her arm and knee were against his in their hiding place, but she reached out and ran her hand along his closest leg in understanding.

They heard the sound of a door opening roughly and voices rising outside, so they both slowly and carefully peered up over the back of the couch. Salisbury stood in his doorway, securing the belt of a robe around his middle. In the pale available light he did not look amused.

"Salisbury does not appear happy to see him," she whispered.

"He's not the only one," John replied. "I'll turn off our light," he suggested as he moved away.

Teyla watched his naked backside and shoulders moving away in a distracted moment before returning her attention to Salisbury and his late visitor. There was a lot of talking going on over there, but it was too quiet and far away for her to catch any of it. John switched off the last lamp and complete darkness filled their villa. Teyla saw Salisbury's visitor glance round, but only briefly. Salisbury gestured with both hands and then stepped back into the villa. The door closed, but his visitor remained. Teyla watched the man turn away, his hands on his hips, and he shook his head. He appeared angry or frustrated.

In complete darkness now, Teyla felt more comfortable standing up a little, leaning against the back of the high backed couch, so that she could more comfortably watch. She was hesitant to stand fully, for she was naked. She glanced aside to see where John was, and saw him moving back towards her through the darkness.

"He parked just up the driveway," he reported quietly. "Got the plate number."

She nodded before returning her attention to outside. "Salisbury has gone back inside, while his visitor appears to be waiting outside. He appears angry or frustrated."

John slid into place next to her, his shoulder and arm against her warm and welcoming. "The light's still on. Maybe Salisbury's changing to come out."

Teyla watched the unknown visitor wander away from the porch, pacing around the small lawn in a clear attempt to distract himself or waste time. Whenever he turned towards their villa, Teyla dipped lowered behind the couch. She kept one arm over her breasts now, feeling more comfortable that way, since there were wide windows to her left as well. The villa's windows clearly required curtains or blinds like upstairs. She was tempted to mention that feedback to Teresa when they left on Monday.

"Someone's coming down the road," John reported and she rose up a little higher to see there was a figure approaching along the path. "Teresa," John added after a beat.

Teyla frowned at the vague female form in the far darkness and then to him. "How do you know that?" She asked with some suspicion.

"Her hair," John replied with a smile, which she could see easily now that her eyes had adjusted to the new darkness. He was leant close, very close.

Teyla looked back to Teresa in the distance, who had stopped. She made a large gesture, which Salisbury's visitor saw. He gestured back, but she responded with another 'come to me' gesture. He shook his head angrily, but did as she requested and began moving down the road towards her.

"Mmm," John considered with suspicion.

Salisbury's door opened again and he stepped out, dressed now, and headed out to the road and followed after the visitor. Teresa was waiting for them two doors down. From the shape of her, her arms were crossed and she did not look very happy.

With all the people further down the street, she and John rose up higher. Teyla reactivated the camera, which had shut down, and lifted it to take some pictures. They could capture a photo of the man easier now he was further away and less likely to see the camera. She lifted the camera in both hands, surrendering her nudity to do so – there was no one else around outside. However, John stepped up behind her and one of his arms wrapped around her, covering both her breasts with his long forearm.

"Thank you," she whispered with a smile.

"You're welcome," he whispered somewhat seductively over her left shoulder.

He leant nearer, pressing his body close to her, his heat covering her previous slight chill. From over her shoulder, he watched the back screen of the camera as she adjusted the zoom, focusing in on the people stood in a circle.

"They are arguing," she noted unnecessarily.

"New guy looks more angry at Salisbury than her," John added, his breath warm over her bare shoulder. His thick muscular arm around her felt wonderful, chasing away the chill, protecting her breasts from sight, and yet also teasing. The pressure of his warm arm flush against her rushed the sexual excitement back through her body, and she could feel her nipples tighten further against the inside of his forearm.

She focused on capturing a picture of the visitor, but it was quite dark out there, and the picture was hazy. She mumbled at the result.

"Tech guys might be able to clean it up," John suggested, his lips seeming to be hovering against her skin at her shoulder.

"I do not want to risk using the flash, it will draw their attention," she replied as she took another photo, which nicely captured the visitor's profile. She lowered the camera and rested her hands down onto the back of the couch again. John kept his arm around her, and she was in no hurry for him to move away.

"Maybe he's Teresa's guy," John considered softly against her neck, his lips brushing her skin for sure this time. "Now he's found out about her and Salisbury and he's pissed." His voice sounded distracted and playful.

"Maybe he's Salisbury's guy," Teyla suggested in turn.

She felt John's smile against her skin as he brushed his mouth against her. His arm shifted over her breasts, just a little, but it was enough to slide over her nipples and draw out a flash of arousal down through her. His lips slid up the side of her neck to her ear, and his other hand grazed into play over her hip. She closed her eyes for a moment and leant back against him, before she snapped her eyes open.

"We need to keep watch," she pointed out, but her voice sounded husky to her own ears.

"We're watching," John replied against her ear.

She tilted her head aside, and his lips pressed to her skin. She leant her weight on out stretched arms against the back of the couch in front of them and tried to focus on the three people outside, but John's free hand was circling low over her belly. She sighed heavily as his hand slid down between her legs, which she parted to give him room.

He circled gently, so softly that she had to arch back against him, rubbing herself into his touch. They had been so rudely interrupted. She had barely begun to enjoy the feel of him inside her.

She lifted one hand from the couch and caressed her hand down his arm, down to where his fingers teased her entrance, and then round behind her, finding the enjoyable muscular swell of his hip and backside. He moved closer and she felt the hard ridge of him against her hip. Instinctively she rolled her hips back to rub against him.

She struggled to keep her eyes open and focused outside.

Down the road, the animated gesturing had stopped, but from the visitor's body language it was clear to Teyla that he wasn't convinced by the discussion. However, she was not able to interpret any more, for John's touch was too distracting. His fingers parted her flesh as he shifted to stand directly behind her and then the head of his arousal was sliding between his fingers into her. She leant forward into his arm to assist his penetration, leaning her weight forward onto the couch.

He slid slowly and as deeply as the position allowed, bring their bodies flush together once more, and now both his arms wrapped around her.

She gasped at the sensation, reaching back again to clasp his hip appreciatively. "John," she cried into the darkness.

He withdrew slightly and pushed back into her. He felt full and swollen, filling her, rubbing her wonderfully inside. She leant a little further forward as he thrust again, and he leant forward with her, his chest against her back, her backside right up tight into his groin. His mouth was hot on the side of her throat, sucking and teasing. She rocked her head back and to the side to assist him, whilst she struggled to keep watch as well. He felt so good. His tongue circled tiny wet circles on her shoulder, her skin acutely sensitive.

Movement on the street, made her lift her head. Teresa was leaving, heading away into the darkness, leaving Salisbury with his visitor.

John began to move faster into her, and she leant back into him. He withdrew his arm from around her, only to replace it with both his hands, each covering one of her breasts. Arousal so hot and intoxicating flooded through her, making her legs feel weak under her, and her concentration wavered from the window. She reached back and pulled herself into his thrusts as he continued his slow, but thorough penetrations. His hands massaged her breasts, lifting, squeezing.

"They are returning," she reported abruptly through rapid breaths, seeing the two men heading back up the road towards them.

John held still with her, his hands secure over her breasts, and his chin on her shoulder, as they both watched, their breathing fast and their bodies interlocked in the most intimate of ways. She felt light-headed with heightened arousal, and though his presence in the body, still and deep, was pleasurable, she missed the friction of his thrusts desperately. She clutched onto him and the back of the couch for support as they watched the men growing closer.

"They will see us," she whispered breathily.

"We'll be okay," he whispered back, but they both leant forward together to lower their profile. It would appear darker inside the villa to those outside.

They watched the men, who still appeared not to be getting along, as they reached the end of Salisbury's driveway. The unknown man gestured dismissively to Salisbury and walked away, up the side driveway towards his parked car. Salisbury shook his head and made his way towards his front door. At the last moment, Annette pulled open the door, looking half-asleep and worried. Salisbury made some calming gestures, but the unknown man's car roared to life and he backed rapidly down the driveway, screeching onto the road and then accelerating off down the road.

Teyla shifted her head to brush her cheek against John's in a silent version of a shared look. His hands had flexed, almost protectively, over her breasts at the roar of the car's engines, but they relaxed once more now.

Annette shouted something from the doorway, stepped inside and then slammed the door loudly.

"I'm putting my money on new guy being something to do with Teresa and Salisbury's affair," John whispered against her ear.

"Or perhaps it is over a venture that they are in disagreement over," she suggested as she watched Salisbury try the front door handle, but it was locked. He hammered on the door, and then pressed doorbell and waited. After a long second the door opened, but Annette did not appear. Salisbury disappeared into his villa looking less than pleased.

"Somebody's going to be sleeping on the couch tonight," John uttered with dark amusement.

"He is the guy after all," she replied quoting him from last night.

He smiled against her skin once more and shifted inside her. She straightened up slightly from their hunched hiding position and he began to move within her again. This time she had no distraction, no concern as to people outside, she just closed her eyes and moved with him. He kissed her back, her shoulder, the nape of her neck, his hands sliding over her sides and around to her front to once more massage her breasts. She gasped with the heightening speed and passion, but her legs were weakening from it all.

She pulled from him, turning, reaching for him, as his hands glided over her. She stepped up against him and pressed her mouth to his. His arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace, holding her flush to him, chest to chest, the length of his arousal pinned between them.

She cupped one side of his jaw in her hand as they kissed long and deep, his hands caressing over her freely. Completely naked with each other in the darkness, pressed so close, free to touch and share, she squeezed her eyes tightly closed and celebrated in the wondrous feel of it all.

Soft material met the back of her knees and she settled backwards onto the couch, drawing him down with her. He covered her this time, his mouth, chest, and belly against hers as he slid deeply into her again. She lifted her knees up high against his sides and gripped his backside as he thrust a rapid smooth rhythm. The repetitive slide and retreat, the tight joining and then withdrawing, the wetness and deep intimacy mixed with absolute certainty rushed her along the path to that promising fulfilment once again.

She ran her hands over his body, muscular, straining, textured and strong, moving over her and inside her. His mouth caressed and licked, from her mouth to her throat, one nipple and then the other, and back up along her jaw to her mouth once more.

Heightening, squeezing, and groaning, she rocked with him, lifting her legs higher and further apart. His back was a mass of movement and twisting straining muscle and sinew under her hands. She dug her fingers deep into the mass of sleek muscle over his shoulder blades and cried against the roaring passion hovering ready to crash upon her. The friction, the slide of body against body was so good, so right. She pressed her cheek against his shoulder, gripping him tighter, as she felt him shudder, verging on the edge of his own orgasm. She dropped her head back as he rocked them together, the mutual collision lifting her backside from the couch's fabric, and as she rocked back down with him, the friction and the slick slide of his mouth down her throat, broke the veil apart and her peak hit her in a sudden overwhelming welcome rush.

She held onto him with strong fingers throughout it, watching him straining over her, his arms locked out on either side of her as he thrust into her contacting core, and then he tensed entirely, from his thighs, to his chest, and forehead. She watched in heightened vision from her own pleasure as he poured himself into his release, her hands sliding down his chest as he flexed and held still for the final quiver of his energy. He looked elementally masculine and beautiful in that moment, the last straining moment held still outside of time as they locked gazes through the faint light.

She ran her hands up to his jaw, feeling emotion unspoken for so long, now completely undeniable. And through that painfully beautiful realisation, she also knew the most wondrous of pleasures.

He lowered over her, his hands outlining her face in turn and his mouth covered hers.

They shared an open mouthed wet soft kiss that lingered on into another, around which their breathing slowed and the weight of his body increased upon her. It was a wonderful weight, cradled easily between her hips, and she would have been quite happy to have him remain there, but a sleepiness had begun to infuse through her.

The kiss slowed and ended gently, making her feel as if everything had been thoroughly completed and every part of them moulded together.

His lifted his mouth from hers, and she opened her eyes to look up at him with a new deeper love than ever before.

He smiled softly.

0000  
TBC


	10. Relaxing in Sunshine

0000

**CHAPTER TEN – RELAXING IN SUNSHINE**

The light patter of rain greeted John as he opened his eyes to the morning light. Feeling excessively sleepy, he closed his eyes again and slipped back into a light snooze. Only the full pull of sleep drifted out of reach, the air feeling too thick in the room around him, the humidity from yesterday still lingering. He vaguely remembered waking a few times through the night, the air over the bed having felt uncomfortably heavy and warm, but with the giving mattress under him and Teyla snuggled up against his side, he had felt so good that he had simply been able to push the covers off him and slip back into sleep. That was impossible now though, and recalling last night so vividly, his mind began to sharpen and he opened his eyes to the morning.

The soft patter of rain against glass was growing louder across the room, offering the promise of fresh air to break the heavy humidity inside. If he opened a window, the air would break through the heavy warm weight, but that would require him getting up and moving away from the bed. He wasn't all that impressed with that idea, especially as he rolled his head to the side and Teyla came into view. She wasn't lying right up against him anymore, having rolled away onto her back, her furthest arm flung out across the mattress. Her closest leg was draped over his though, and her closest arm was tucked up against his side, while his left arm stretched out under her pillow, somehow having retained enough blood supply through the night. She was wearing that nice thin blue pyjama top he had seen the other night, but nothing else. The top had been pushed up in her sleep, the material now bunched up around her ribs, leaving a wide strip of bare belly visible down to where the bedcovers lay across her hips. She looked good enough to eat.

He lifted his head from the pillow to take in a better view of her, but the stuffy heat of the room became more apparent the more awake he became. Looking past the tempting sight of Teyla, he focused on the closed balcony doors across the room against which the rain was splattering. Fresh air really would be good.

He gently extracted his left arm from under her pillow as he sat up, providing himself with another great view of her. She stirred slightly as he slipped out from under her leg, but she didn't look like she was going to wake any time soon, so he only lightly ran his hand over her leg as he pushed the last of the covers off him and slowly stood up from the bed.

His body felt as heavy as the air, but good. The sweet feeling of relaxation only got better as he took in the view beyond the balcony doors. From up here, he could see the cove stretching out in both directions, the headlands seeming to protectively curve inwards at both ends. The tops of palm trees danced in the light shower of rain and, as he opened the balcony doors, sweet fresh air, smelling of the ocean, rushed in around him.

He stood for a long moment, drinking it all in as he ran a hand through his hair, his mind now properly clearing. He leaned a little out of the doors to look down towards next door, but everything looked as still in Salisbury's villa as it was over here. He wasn't wearing his watch so had no idea what time it was, but judging by the light level and his beard growth, he guessed it was still early. Plenty of time to go back to bed he concluded, and so he turned away from the rain and the beautiful view to take in an even better one.

Teyla lying across their shared bed.

The renewed delight of that fact made him pause just to simply watch her sleep. He trailed his eyes over her relaxed beautiful face, down the elegant swells of her chest and along the tempting expanse of her bared belly. He had dislodged the covers further down the bed when he had gotten up so that he could now see the smooth naked line of her left hip.

It was official – this was definitely a dream vacation.

Smiling, he moved back round the bed, his eyes never straying from her, as he adjusted the waistband of his boxers against his cooling skin. At which point, he realised he had been standing in the open doors of the balcony with a hard on for anyone walking down the road to see. Fortunately there hadn't been anybody out there – at least that he'd seen! It seemed that he and Teyla had slipped into some exhibitionism staying here, what with all the wide windows and open views of the ocean. If anyone had walked by the villa last night, they would have gotten a right eyeful.

Grinning with the memories from last night, he climbed quickly back into his place in the bed, settling into the cooling space next to her. She inhaled delicately as the mattress shifted as he laid down beside her, and she murmured, her eyelids sleepily lifting a fraction.

"Mornin'," he whispered, feeling excitement beginning to mix in with pleasure as he took the opportunity to slide his hand across her belly now that she was officially awake.

She murmured an indistinct reply, but her lips widened and lifted with a sleepy smile, her hand settling back against him chest. He slipped his leg a little over hers this time as he settled properly onto his side next to her.

He was actually lying in bed with Teyla.

Just like in that 'future' vision.

"Guess that jump to the future might be real after all," he considered quietly, his voice rather dry from sleep. He cleared his throat as he ran his hand in a smooth circle around her belly.

She chuckled lightly and slid her hand a little higher up his chest, the backs of her fingers caressing softly – just as she had done in that future vision. Only this time he was actually feeling it in real time, and there was no barrier of clothing between them. The feel of her touch, teasing gently through his chest hair, stirred his blood, but also settled a sense of warm satisfaction deep inside him. He dipped his chin to press a gentle kiss to her upper chest, just below her closest collarbone.

"Best vacation ever," he confirmed as he inhaled against her skin.

"Indeed it is," she replied quietly, and he pulled back to look down at her face. Her eyes were now fully open, but still slightly hazy with sleep, and perhaps pleasure. "And you got to sleep in the big bed," she added recalling his comment last night as they had nearly stumbled through the darkness up the stairs to collapse in bed. He had asked her, knowing full well that he wasn't going have to sleep on that stupid couch in the study again, if he could sleep in the 'big bed' with her.

"Stupid couch," he muttered again as he smiled and began to softly caress across her belly again, enjoying the chance to just touch her. He had explored so much of her last night, but it had been so much darker, whereas now he could watch his hand slide over her golden skin in the full light of day. There was something even sexier about touching her in the daytime, as if it somehow made it all the more lasting.

She laughed deeply at his muttering about the couch as she stretched out sleepily against the mattress, arching, twisting and unfurling her body. He watched the show with wide eyes and teasing light touches along the elongated line of her waist and belly, then lightly over the peaking promise of her breasts under her pyjama top.

"You could have slept beside me that first night," she said in what was now clearly a truthful statement, but he knew she also meant it in playful teasing.

"Well, I know that _now_," he replied with a grin as he stroked his palm across her middle and down the far side of her waist.

Fresh cooler air was sliding through the room and might have been responsible for the tightening peaks of her nipples inside her top, but he liked to think that it was just because of him. He recalled the glorious sight of her naked breasts last night, remembered the arousing feel of them, loving how they had grown fuller in his hands and against his mouth.

"In fact, it seems clear now that you could have been sharing my bed for many months now," she added with a self-satisfied smile, now clearly wide-awake.

He liked this soft aroused and playful version of her. Sliding under the weight of his hand and leg, she turned onto her side towards him, her hand gliding onto his hip, her fingertips sneaking just under the waistband of his boxers. He slid his leg further over hers in response and felt the smooth length of her thigh push slightly between his. He ran his hand around over her hip to her bare backside, pushing the covers out the way as he did, and encouraged her closer to him. She shifted willingly closer, her nose and lips brushing his cheek, but he held back from sharing the kiss she wanted just yet. He could tease too.

"You could have said something," he told her, needing to at least make the point.

She pulled her head back from his a little so that their gazes could meet more comfortably lying so close. Only he found the golden arch of her cheeks, jaw and lips were too distracting when so close to her. But, her eyes lowered, her expression becoming subtly more serious, as she watched her fingers circle one of his nipples, sending a warm arousing sensation through him.

"I just assumed that since you had said nothing, that you saw no opportunity in the end of my relationship with Kanaan," she said, her eyes lifting slowly up to meet his again. "I should have spoken about my situation more with all of you," she admitted.

John nodded emphatically at her. "Yes, you should have," he said softly. "No one's going to judge you badly, Teyla," he added, remembering her comments out in the surf last night. He hated to think of her worrying about some misguided opinions that shouldn't matter. "Though," he added, hoping to lift the mood again, "maybe they will about you being with me."

She grinned more brightly than he had expected, making him grin back at her like the lovesick puppy he suspected he looked like. He got the impression that she had liked his comment about being with him as much as appreciating his joke.

"I have perhaps been a little too private about certain matters," she concluded as her fingertips glided along his right collarbone. He could happily just lie here being petted by her all day.

"Says the woman who stood naked downstairs while spying on her neighbours last night," he replied to make her smile again and to remind them both of those sexy memories.

She had looked amazing stood entirely naked in the living room, faint moonlight highlighting her smooth feminine lines and the tight peaks of her nipples. He hadn't been able to keep his hands off her, especially once it had been clear that Salisbury hadn't been up to anything blaringly guilty last night as he stood arguing out on the street. John was still convinced it had been some sort of domestic, especially as Annette had slammed the door in Salisbury's face at the end. Teyla had gotten the photos they needed while he had been more interested in continuing the naked exciting moment with her.

Clearly the memory was just as fun for her, because he watched a delicate flush of pink spread across her cheeks. He chuckled at her pained yet amused wince at the reference to her naked hiding and spying last night. He had just loved watching her make her way 'mission impossible style' through the villa last night, keeping carefully out of view of next door as she had stealthily made her way between pieces of furniture to where she could watch what was happening. All while being completely naked. He knew he would be chuckling over those great memories for a long time to come.

Only, right now, he was more interested in forming some new memories. He leant in and kissed each of her pink cheeks and then nuzzled into the warm sweetly woman scented space where her jaw met her throat. He smoothed his palm down her side, around her hip, and down tightly over her backside.

"I am not entirely sure where my dress ended up last night," she considered breathily as she arched her neck back for him.

"We'll do a thorough search later," he promised her as he pressed another kiss to her smiling cheek and cupped her backside.

She chuckled deeply as she leant against him, her hands pressing against him, her uppermost leg sliding right up over his hip. He rolled onto his back for her, pulling her with him and gloried in the sight of her sitting up over him, her hands sliding down his chest as she settled her naked backside across him more thoroughly.

"I think that sounds a wonderful idea," she suggested seductively, which sent another excited thrill right though him.

He drew in a deep aroused breath as she leant down over him, her mouth descending towards his.

"Definitely the best vacation ever," he whispered as her lips met his.

0000

She stretched her legs out onto the edge of the table and contemplated the view through the front windows of their villa. The view did not get any less wondrous to watch after three days here.

The rain yesterday had broken the heavy thick humidity, not that she and John had ventured out of their bedroom for many long hours yesterday. After a shared shower, which had taken entirely too long due to frequent 'distractions', they had eaten lunch downstairs, watching the villa next door through the falling rain.

They had talked, laughed and teased. With a light blanket over them, they had sat together watching the then pouring rain together, John's arm around her and the strong slide of his skin under her exploring touch. After a late meal, they had spent the entire evening upstairs, once more kissing, touching, exploring and somehow finding a lasting stamina that had enabled to them to enjoy hours of play, including a wide variety of sexual positions. It had assisted him in lasting longer, but it had also become a playful game, a 'sharing of cultural positions', as John referred to it.

She grinned as she sipped from her tall glass of fruit juice. They had been more restrained so far today, mostly because they had been quite worn out from their entire day of play yesterday. Not that sitting beside him on the beach this morning hadn't been a very fulfilling experience in itself. Annette and Salisbury had joined many others sitting on the beach today, the day's clearer air after yesterday's rain, having tempted everyone out. It had hardly been a difficult assignment for her and John to also stretch out on the sun-streaked beach as well. With occasional breaks to cool off in the water, it had been yet another example of how wonderfully relaxing this mission continued to be.

She had particularly enjoyed John walking around bare-chested, his skin deepening in colour as the morning had progressed. She had assisted him in applying sun block, but had not let him help her do the same, because she had recognised the look in his eyes, now with her new knowledge of him – applying cream to her back would have quickly led to other things.

"Just trying to be helpful," he had replied, pretending to feel rejected, but she had known that he would have gotten them distracted.

She had leant in towards him and pressed a kiss to his lips to repair his false hurt. "You can assist me in applying my moisturiser later instead," she had promised him as she had pulled back. It had felt spectacularly enlivening to kiss him in the open, with others around them. It was not common to show such open displays of sexual affection in public among her people, it was usually left for inside the tent. However, she was not limited by those considerations with him. He enjoyed touching her, when they were out of the villa or not, though obviously the areas he touched her varied in public. She saw no reason why sharing a light kiss was not appropriate in public, and it was common enough on Earth. She liked the freedom to do so, and know that there was no one around who knew them, so they could be as relaxed as they wanted, and she felt thoroughly relaxed.

She sipped some more of her drink as she regarded the hotter sun outside. They had come inside for lunch, but the Salisburys had remained out on the beach. From her station looking out the front window, she could see the edge of Salisbury's sun chair through the vegetation between the beach and the road.

It was nice to be inside in the cooler shade now, especially while John was out purchasing them some more food and pursuing some investigation. He had struck up a routine to visit the entertainment area to talk with the barman each day, ostensibly to buy his favourite beer, but actually gaining tiny useful nuggets of information.

Across the road, Annette appeared from the beach, one hand securely holding her wide floppy sunhat on her head as she headed towards her villa. Annette did not notice Teyla watch her progress up the driveway and inside. A few minutes later, a car headed down the road and pulled up in front of the villa. Teyla watched as Annette reappeared and headed down to the waiting car. She had changed out of her beachwear and she was carrying the same large handbag as she had had at the clubhouse. Annette did seem overly happy today, on the beach as well as now as she opened the car door. Teyla suspected her mood was likely due to her argument with Salisbury the other night, which may have left a lingering tension between them.

Whilst he had been on the beach, Salisbury had barely spoken to his wife, instead he had spent most of his time in conversation on his cell phone. He had sat under a wide umbrella for most of the time, his laptop balanced on his knees and his phone against his ear. Though it had hardly been an enjoyable morning with him for Annette, the overheard phone conversations on the beach had been very useful for Teyla and John to overhear. It had become obvious quite quickly that all the conversations, some quite heated, had been concerning the potential purchasing of some land. It was not overly useful for her and John, but worth knowing.

Clearly Annette was now planning to spend the rest of her day away from Salisbury, for she climbed into the dark car and pulled the door shut loudly. As the driver turned the car around, Teyla caught a glimpse of a woman at the wheel, talking and smiling. She was most likely a friend of Annette's. The car drove off down the road and out of view, so Teyla returned her attention to the beach, only to see Salisbury was returning himself, Terry following him while carrying the umbrella and the laptop. Salisbury was talking away on his cell phone again. He really did seem quite obsessed with his work to be continuing on so determinedly whilst on vacation in such a wonderful place as this.

Salisbury and Terry disappeared into the villa, only for Terry to reappear almost immediately and head away down the road, until he too disappeared out of Teyla's view.

She sipped her drink and decided this truly was the easiest and most enjoyable of missions.

Another car turned into the road and proceeded down towards the end villas. Teyla watched its progress, the sun shining off the front window, blocking the driver's identity from her. The car slowed and pulled into Salisbury's driveway. Teyla leant forward to follow the car's progress down the side drive and it stopped a discrete distance from the road. Salisbury appeared out of the front door of the villa, having changed into a new shirt and with a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. He locked the front door behind him and walked across the lawn. As he walked he looked down the road and then back round, his gaze suddenly sliding over the honeymoon villa. Teyla quickly adjusted the angle she was looking in, so that she would appear in profile to him, just sitting enjoying the view. She remained still, sipping her drink, letting him lose interest if he had looked at her. She heard conversation from the driveway and risked looking back round. Salisbury was stood by the new car and Teresa was with him. Teyla realised that the car was of the same design as the one that had been parked out the front of Salisbury's villa the other night – it was Teresa's car.

Teyla leant back further in her seat so that she could see out the side window, and she saw Salisbury pull Teresa up against him. It looked like quite a rough kiss, but Teresa wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Teyla frowned – the affair was true then, and there they were kissing in broad daylight.

The kiss ended as quickly as it had begun and the couple climbed into the car. They were off somewhere together, likely not work related if Teresa's very low cut top was any indication. The car reversed down the driveway, during which Teyla lifted a magazine she had kept close to her side in case she needed to appear distracted. She focused on an article about losing weight from one's hips, as she listened to the car pull away and head down the road. The car gone, she dropped the magazine aside. They were both gone, so her sentry duty could relax, but she was happy to remain exactly where she was, feet up, cold drink in her hand, with her view of ocean and the scent of it breezing in through an open window.

After a short time, as she watched a family packing up and leaving the villa three doors down, she spied John approaching in the distance down from the entertainment building. She could recognise him in a crowded room anyway, but now her interest lingered in the long lean length of him, enjoying the narrowness of his hips, his broad shoulders, and the way he smiled at the people packing up their car. He exchanged some words with them, smiling, as he carried on, a large bag in his arm that held their shopping. The sun glimmered against his sunglass as he neared, but she could tell when he spotted her watching him, for he smiled.

He had been smiling a lot these past days, and it pleased her so thoroughly to know that in sharing more with her that he could be so happy. He certainly made her happy, just seeing him walking through the sunshine, the ocean's breeze playing lightly with his hair and the parted collar of his shirt made her feel deliriously joyful. She watched him reach the path to their villa and he twisted to look back to the beach, seeking out the Salisburys, not having seen them leave. As he returned his attention toward her and the path up to their front door, she shook her head towards the beach, communicating that their targets were gone.

Teyla leant back in her seat as she watched his progress up to their front door and then she looked back through the open plan space towards the lobby area waiting for him to appear.

"Hey, Hunny," he called, which he had settled on as his pet name for her on this trip, and it was delivered with a playful tone each time.

"Hello, Snookums," she called back with the same tone, enjoying their game, as he shut the door and appeared in her view.

"I saw Annette go past in the dark blue car," he reported as he headed across to the breakfast bar and set his bag down. "Salisbury in the villa?"

"No," she reported with interest. "He returned just after Annette left, and then Teresa drove up," she paused pointedly. "And I am certain now that her car is the one we saw that first night from the beach." It had not been their first night here, but it had been their first night together.

"The big black four by four?" John asked as he pulled out items from the bag and set them on the worktop along with his sunglasses.

"Yes," Teyla confirmed. "She parked up the driveway and he came out to her. They kissed and then drove off together," she finished, rather delighting in sharing the news with him.

"I've got better than that," John replied though, as he pulled out two bottles of beer from the pack he had put into the fridge. "You want one?" He offered.

"No, I still have some juice," she replied, sensing that he had some very interesting information to impart and that he was enjoying holding back from telling her.

She watched him put the lid of his beer free and expertly flick it across the kitchen into the sink. "I've got three great bits of information," he reported with a grin.

"Oh?" She enquired, smiling at his clear pleasure at his success as he took a swallow from his beer. He had a lovely long masculine neck. She thoroughly enjoyed kissing it.

"First off, about what we heard this morning," John began as he walked from the kitchen into the living space. "Salisbury's trying to get his hands on a piece of land further up the shore, but it's close to protected parkland, so it's probably not going to happen."

He had reached the back of the smaller couch where she was seated. He paused to bend down over her and she lifted her chin to meet his greeting kiss. She cupped his chin in her fingers as the kiss lingered a little longer before he pulled back.

"Secondly," he continued as he rounded the front of her couch. She pulled her legs up from resting on the table to give him space to squeeze between her and the coffee table. She didn't pulled her knees all the way back though, because it meant his legs brushed hers as he slid by her, and his hand dropped to her closest knee as he sat down in a rush of breath next to her. She stretched her legs again and John's hand surprisingly slipped off her leg. He was sat turned towards her, clearly pleased with what he had to report.

"I was right about what we saw that first night, that guy was Teresa's ex who she apparently dumped to focus all her time on pleasing Salisbury," John continued.

She smiled at his smile of victory at having correctly interpreted what they had seen in the dark that night. "Did Jazzy tell you this?"

"He was very talkative today," John reported. "Think he was bored yesterday with the rain keeping everyone inside."

"So, this ex of hers decided to confront Salisbury?" She asked.

"Yep, especially as he part owns some of that land Salisbury's trying to get his hands on."

"And he is taking it personally," Teyla concluded.

"Salisbury's trying to buy him out and stole his girl," John replied as he sipped some more of his beer. "I'm surprised he didn't deck the guy."

"It all somewhat suggests then that Annette is well aware of Salisbury's affair with Teresa," Teyla considered as John settled his arm along the back of the couch, his fingers sliding across the back of her neck.

"Yeah, guess she really is more interested in keeping the lifestyle they have," he replied thoughtfully as he looked out the windows towards the beach view Salisbury's resort provided.

Teyla reached out and settled her hand on his knee, drawing his attention back to her. "You said you had three pieces of good information," she prompted him.

He grinned as he set his beer down on the table beside her juice. "Turns out, that though we're here until early Monday morning, Salisbury and Annette are jetting off Friday," he reported gleefully.

"Tomorrow?" She replied.

"Yeah," John confirmed his eyes sparkling as he leaned closer. "Which means you and I get to properly enjoy two days here without all the spying."

She grinned back as she leant closer to him, inhaling the deep masculine scent of him. "We really have much to thank General O'Neill for."

"We'll get him a golfing mug," John suggested dismissively as his lips moulded against hers.

The heat of his hand slid over her lap, assisting her to turn further towards him, as if she needed the encouragement. She ran her hands up his shoulders as their kiss deepened nicely, and though in view of the quiet road, she pressed herself closer to him and indulged in sharing the long wet penetrating kiss.

Two whole days without any distraction – they would be lucky if they left the villa at all.

0000  
On to the last chapter…


	11. Last Sunset in Kaua'i

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – LAST SUNSET IN KAUA'I**

The climb up the steep steps had been far more enjoyable this time, taken in their own time. He hadn't held back from enjoying the view of her this time, and she had reached back to hold his hand at times when it wasn't too steep.

It was their last evening here, and though he had always thought of Atlantis as his real home now, he felt the lingering fingers of disappointment to be going back.

They had had the most amazing week. It had been life changing, literally.

He couldn't remember feeling this relaxed, this happy and satisfied, and he was feeling reluctant to let anything disturb it. For the first time in a very long time, he didn't want to go back to work, though he knew he would love being back in the city once there. For now though, leaving this tropical paradise, and this time entirely alone with Teyla niggled at him.

The top of the steps was bathed in a gentle cooling breeze this evening as she stopped and looked back down at the bay. John's fingers were relaxed and loosely holding hers as he followed her up to the last step, and, as before, looked out at the view along with her.

"I am going to miss this place," she admitted.

"Me too," John replied, his free hand settling around her back.

"We should take a new photo of the view," she decided as she pulled her fingers from his and reached into her small bag. They had taken a photo of the view on the first evening, but this would be different, not only for the light seemed even more beautiful since they had headed up here earlier tonight, but also because she would remember this as their last night here.

She snapped two photos as he held her bag for her. He had been so attentive these past days, seeming so naturally thoughtful about how comfortable she was, frequently asking if she wanted something to eat or drink. If the villa and the landscape had not been luxurious enough, having him offering to bring her anything she wanted, or to fulfil her desires, was almost too much. She had oddly recalled Annette's advice about praising a partner, and though she had initially jokingly told him how wonderfully well he did everything, she had seen something sparkle in his eyes despite the play. He really did like to know she enjoyed him so much. It was not hard for her to be sure that he enjoyed her as well, for his hands were nearly always on her, his touch gentle and lingering even when simply brushing past her in the kitchen as they prepared a meal together. He pressed small kisses to her shoulder and throat as the occasion took him, making her feel loved and desired all the time.

She lowered the camera, studying the displayed results on the small screen, and John leant closer, looking over her shoulder. She was just the most perfect height for that.

"For prosperity," she said smiling as she turned off the camera. He liked that she wanted photos to remember this vacation. They had taken several of the villa at the start of the week, at the time done to fill the camera with typical holiday maker's photos, but he was glad now that he would have those pictures of the villa.

They had decided to return to the bench around the headland for their last evening here, and as John handed her back her bag, he looked off to the darkening sky, judging how much time they had. He decided to wait to kiss her until they were at the bench, otherwise they might be late to watch the sun setting.

They hadn't been out much over the weekend since the Salisburys had packed up and left. Annette had walked over to their villa just before she left to say goodbye to 'Freya'. Teyla had invited her in briefly, and John had slipped away into the kitchen area to give Teyla the time to talk with her. At which point he had seen the opened packets of condoms he had left on the side earlier. He quickly tided them away into the garbage, and glanced around the worktops quickly in case there had been anything else incriminating. Though, actually the only incriminating things they had were the photos on the camera – there was nothing wrong with there being condoms in a honeymoon villa, even if it might be a moment of embarrassment.

He would have to remember to keep that kind of thing concealed back in his quarters though. He wouldn't want Torren find one and hold it up for everyone to see as the kid asked what it was.

The subject of telling the others about their new relationship had only been ghosted over, usually in some joke about being seen together on a balcony in the city. They had made love last night just inside the open doors of the balcony, the sea air stimulating over their heated bodies, and she had suggested they needed to find a secluded balcony in the city in which to repeat it. They had laughed about it, stretched out cuddled up on the long comfortable rug on the floor just inside the balcony doors afterwards, but he had been thinking about it since, and already had some suggestions of possible likely balconies. He would do some scouting around the city and report back to her.

Her bag back on her shoulder, her hand slid into his and she leant her body against his as they began to follow the path around the headland that would lead them back to the bench. Hopefully no one else had decided to sit there tonight.

As the path was narrowing, he went first, putting himself closer to the dangerous edge that dropped away, not that there wasn't a rope to stop anyone falling, but he preferred to be that side. It hadn't missed his notice that Teyla had come up against far more dangerous situations than walking along a dark path, but he still indulged his chance to be a little protective. She probably wouldn't stand for it in other situations.

He kept hold of her hand as they walked single file, while her free hand lingered on his back, making him feel absurdly pleased. She had developed the habit of sliding her hand into the back pockets of his shorts or pants, and subtly cupping his backside. He liked it when she did that, because it was highlighting that fascinating line between when she was so composed and in control in public, but when alone with him, her body aroused, she had no shyness in touching him. She had asked him to show her how he liked to be stroked, squeezed. He hadn't been able to find the words in the heated moment, so he had shown her, holding her hand under his. His brain had all but exploded inside his skull as she had brought him near to release with just her hand, and then she had lowered kisses down his body, heading inevitably towards the moment when she had first used her mouth on him.

He cleared his throat as he dragged his thoughts away from those for now. He was going to have to get used to keeping a lid on these excited arousing thoughts back in Atlantis. Maybe it would be a good thing to have less available time alone with her, because he suspected he was already addicted to it and might end up never going outside again.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked with warm suspicion. His body seemed faintly tense in front of her, and his hand had tightened around her fingers, holding her hand against his back. With the length of his arm, it meant that actually her hand was brushing against his backside, which she had been distractedly enjoying, before she had realised he was not as relaxed as before.

He was more often quiet around her now, likely because he was so much more relaxed, but in those silent times she had sometimes looked round to find him watching her with predatory sensuality. She suspected that perhaps his thoughts might have turned to their frequent lingering on lovemaking this week, but there was the chance that he was beginning to grow concerned about how things would be back in the city.

He looked partly over his shoulder and she saw the gleaming smile. "Nothin'," he replied confirming her first instinct – he was thinking about sex.

Therefore, she gave into her temptation to walk a little closer behind him and she slipped her free hand into the left back pocket of his jeans. It was cooler tonight so he had pulled them on instead of shorts, and she enjoyed the tightness of the material around his backside. He was also wearing her favourite white shirt of his again.

"You're not helping," he told her over his shoulder as she flattened her hand against the moving full muscle of his backside. She was going to miss being able to so freely touch him. Once back in the city he would be the military commander once more and she would feel the need to present her more controlled dignified self as well. She smiled at the term of dignified. She and John had explored each other so thoroughly that the term no longer seemed to apply to them, but they would have to keep their closeness well under control and expressed only in private.

"Perhaps we could go on another trip some time," she suggested as they followed the path around the far end of the headland, the ocean stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was wonderfully reminiscence of the oceans that had always surrounded Atlantis.

"There's another great golf course-" he began looking right over his shoulder at her with a cheeky smile.

"No," she interrupted immediately with a smile.

The sunset was sliding into view now, casting his face in golden oranges. "Now might be the time to tell you I've been taking Torren with me to the driving range."

"I have seen the small plastic golfing clubs you gave him," she replied to his back. "Do not think I did not see you and Ronon both playing with them the other week."

He chuckled. "We were just checking they worked right."

"Ronon doesn't even like golf," she pointed out, grinning at her memory of watching the two grown warriors holding the tiny bright plastic clubs and hitting the small golf balls into the overturned cups on the floor. Torren had been grinning and laughing with such glee.

"Ronon likes anything where you get to hit something," John reasoned.

"That is true," she agreed. She wondered if Torren would actually take to playing golf, because if he did, then the two males would gang up on her to go play the game. "I hope that Torren does not take to the game," she muttered, though admittedly the golf course here had been beautiful place to spend time.

"I can teach him skateboarding if you'd prefer," John offered helpfully with a smile in his voice. They were around the end of the headland now, and the larger bay stretched out to the right. The path was widening, but she remained close behind him, enjoying the view of him along with the sinking sun.

"You have already purchased him a board, I saw it in you room," she replied.

"Just for fun," he replied. She narrowed her eyes at his back, foreseeing the playful fun John and Torren clearly were going to have in his teaching of Earth games. Torren already adored John, and if things with John remained as she prayed and felt they would, she knew that for her son, she could not have found a more wonderful father figure to grow up with, along with Kanaan. It was likely that Kanaan would find a woman to share his life with and so Torren would have more then enough love provided for him, and with their extended friends and her people, Torren had all he could ever need.

She was so looking forward to seeing Torren again tomorrow. She had missed him greatly, but she also felt a lingering wish to remain in Kaua'i just a little longer. It was so wonderful here and her time with John had been so magical.

"Our bench is free," John reported over his shoulder, and she looked round him to see that the wooden aged bench was waiting for them. She smiled at his statement of their ownership – they had only sat on it once before.

She slipped her hand from his pocket as they reached it and as they settled down on the sun-warmed bench, she inhaled the evening air, and smiled out at the wondrous view. As last time, there were many tiny dots of people spread out along the long bench stretched out below, all of them turned towards where the sun was slowly sinking, casting the sky in a myriad of colours. She tightened her hand around John's, his hand a warm weight in her lap, his thigh and knee pressed alongside hers. He shifted in his seat, settling himself more comfortably and his shoulder dumped against hers. She glanced at him beside her, glorying in the golden bright colours highlighting the attractive angles of his face. He grinned at her as he inhaled deeply and stilled next to her.

"Perfect timing," he declared, and he was right, the sun was still above the horizon, but not too close as to rush this time by too quickly.

She nodded her agreement as she trailed her gaze over the bay's landscape, from its flat populated land to the rising mountains and the beach stretching out along the deep blue darkening water. "I will capture some more photos," she decided as she let go of John's hand and pulled the camera out of her bag once more.

She held it up and smiled at the glorious view displayed on the screen. She captured one of the sunset, then the mountains, then the beach and settlement, and finally, she turned and leaned back so that John appeared in the left of the shot. She snapped him in profile, looking out towards the sunset.

He looked round at her, aware that she had caught him, and frowned playfully. For such a handsome man he was quite shy of having his photo taken. She leaned back smiling though, the camera still up and snapped another of him frowning his protest, which turned out to be a great picture of him.

"You took several of me on the beach yesterday," she pointed out as she held the camera away from his weak attempt to take it from her.

"And a few others," he replied, surprising her.

"When?" She asked, honestly unaware of when he had taken other photos of her.

"Just some potential blackmail material," he replied playfully, his hand sliding across her lap to settle on her thigh furthest from him, his arm a warm presence across her body. She leant into his arm as she scrolled through the camera's memory to find these photos he had taken. She found one of her stood on the beach, her hair and skirt dancing around her as she laughed. It had been particularly windy yesterday when they had walked out along the road together to buy some snack food for their trip back to San Francisco tomorrow morning.

"I've transferred the others to the laptop already," he informed her.

She glared at him pressed up beside her, their shared body warmth growing in contrast to the cooling evening air. The sky was turning from orange to reds and golden yellows. "They had better not be ones that will I will not approve of you sharing," she pointed out, in case he had captured her in a compromising position.

He grinned at her, his hand sliding back over her lap. "No promises," he replied as he looked away to the sunset. She frowned at him, unsure if he was just teasing her or if he truly had taken some other photos.

"Perhaps I shall have to take some tonight while you are snoring with your mouth open to use in retaliation," she suggested as she held up the camera to capture one last photo of the changing sunset.

"I don't snore," he protested, but there was some doubt in his voice she thought.

"So _you_ say," she teased back. He did not snore, though he often rumbled a deep grumbling sleepy sound that she enjoyed. It was as if he was purring in his sleep, but she had decided not to share that secret knowledge with him.

"You murmur in your sleep," he reported.

She smiled as she shut down the camera and returned it safely to her bag. "What time do we have to be up tomorrow?" She asked as she turned back to the sunset and slid her hand back round his. His fingers interlinked with hers on her thigh once more.

"Not too early, 0800 hours," he replied. "Not too long until you see Torren again," he added insightfully.

She grinned to think of the reunion. "I have missed him and it will be good to see everyone else."

He nodded and she felt his eyes on her rather than the horizon. His fingers shifted against hers and his hold tightened a fraction. "Some things might have to change, once we're back," he said softly.

She looked away from the view to him, shocked for a moment to think he might mean their relationship.

"At work," he added quickly and she was greatly relieved. "Not here," he explained further indicating the tiny space between them with his free hand, "well, maybe where we sleep-" He had begun to babble, as if he were a little nervous about the subject.

She smiled at his endearing wince at himself.

"I mean," he started over, "about us working on the same team now."

"We rarely work as a separate team anymore any more," she pointed out. Much had changed in Atlantis since their return to Earth, including the fact that they rarely went off world in their individual teams anymore.

"That's true," John conceded thoughtfully. It was likely then that it would be easier for them to start this relationship in Atlantis now that they weren't regularly working off world in small teams. That said though, he still felt a twinge of sadness that their team, as it had been for years, would not be the same again. As much as he preferred this choice over keeping things as they were, he knew he would miss her being there beside him all the time during work hours. Though, actually, all he was doing was just trading spending his work time with her for his out of hours and night time with her.

Thinking about it that way, he felt a lot better about it all.

She didn't seem concerned about it and going back to Atlantis together. He wasn't sure why he was still nervous about how everyone would react to their relationship, how he and Teyla would mix their social time with time alone together, how Torren would fit into that schedule, where John would spending his nights – in her bed or his own at times… They were issues that hadn't even entered his mind in the villa, but now sat with her, knowing this would be their last night together here, he realised that all those questions were going to have to be addressed.

He wished he could chase away the thoughts again, lose his mind into the bliss of a seemingly unending vacation again, but the end was almost here. It was back to reality, but also back to their future.

He watched her looking off to the sinking sun, the colours fading slowly into dark intimate shadows of night. She was so beautiful and with her body so willingly leant against his, wanting to share this moment with him, his heart ached in his chest. He dipped his head and pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder. She looked round at the contact, her cheek brushing against his before he pulled back to look at her.

"You'll be alright with all the changes this'll bring?" He asked, almost certain there hadn't been any note of pleading in his voice. He just needed to be sure she was going to be okay with it all, because then he could be too.

"Yes," she replied simply, her blink and soft smile telling him that she liked that he had asked the question. "It seems that it is very much a time of change." Her expression had become more thoughtful, but with an echo of that pained look she got when she was thinking about Pegasus and her people.

"I'm sorry you're stuck here away from your people," he told her honestly. He realised he hadn't said it directly to her before now, just assuming that she would know, but now, he needed her to know for sure that he understood it was difficult for her.

"You were stranded far from your people for five years," she replied, surprising him. He hadn't thought about it like that. Being in Pegasus had never felt like being stranded, not after the first year at least.

"Except, I liked being in Pegasus," he told her. "I didn't have much of a life back here, and the city was more of a home for me than I'd had in a long time," he explained. "Besides, I found some great thing things in Pegasus," he added softly as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

She smiled at him, understanding that he meant her.

"I'll get you back there, some day," he promised her.

"I do miss my people, I worry for their safety," she said softly, and he tightened his hold on her hand a little more. "But," she added looked up to meet his eyes, "I can be content living here, with you. If you would be happy with me and Torren on your world." She confessed.

She could not imagine now that she could be apart from John, to leave him in one galaxy to return to her own if the chance one day arrived. It felt right to be sat beside him, to feel the strength and care of his hand holding hers, his breath warm against her cheek. It felt right to be with him, just as right as it had felt that first day she had stayed in Atlantis. A vibration of future promise, perhaps of destiny reached and a future that she might already have glimpsed last week.

She looked into his eyes and finished her words. "In your life."

John drew in a quick breath at that, seeing in her expression almost as much as she had asked with her words. The ache from before in the centre of his chest seemed to transform into a deep pervading warmth as he licked his lips and answered her.

"I wouldn't want it any other way," he confessed in return, staring into her dark deep eyes.

She smiled up at him.

"We'll get back to Pegasus one day, back to New Athos," he promised again, "All three of us."

She blinked long and slow and her lips pressed together with a quiver that he didn't miss. Her eyes rose up to his again and he saw the hint of moisture in them and he grinned at her. She rolled her eyes at his delight at making her so emotional, but so as not to lose the moment, he reached round with his free hand and slid his hand against her cheek. She lifted her chin as he leant down the tiny distance between them and brushed his lips against hers.

She inhaled the deep masculine scent of him, mixed with the tropical night of Kaua'i, and deepened the kiss. His mouth moved against hers softly, fully, and seemingly with the same emotion that he had admitted to her already. She felt his love in the kiss, in the gentle touch of his hand against her skin, as if she were a precious thing.

Her mouth tasted of rich coffee and passionate woman, and he parted his lips from hers and inhaled a deep breath of her skin. He was going to have to take full advantage of their last night in the villa, because the prospect of not being able to just reach out and kiss her whenever he liked back in Atlantis was almost torturous.

He pulled back from her, smiling that though his view of this vacation had firmly settled on 'Dream Vacation', he now found himself contemplating a new form of torture back in Atlantis. However, it would be the kind of torture that promised reward and fun at the end of the day.

He stroked her soft beautiful cheek as he smiled at her, enjoying her soft feminine returning smile.

The light level lowered noticeably and they both looked off towards the horizon. The sun was almost set, its glowing light sinking fast from view. They sat in silence watching it lower, their hands entwined, until the last of the trailing colourful show slid into sweet dark night. Only they continued to sit in contented silence on their bench, both watching the darkness settle around them, those across the beach moving away from the beach, and the pinpoints of light increasing across the island.

Earth held many beautiful things, she decided. Not only in its rich varied landscapes, and fascinating cultural differences, but also in the opportunities it provided and the changes it's people had brought far out into the stars. Earth had brought her many things, but most notably John. She had suspected that he would be willing to return to Pegasus someday, but to hear him having said the words, a promise not only to join her, but Torren too, moved her deeply. This was right. This was her future, on whichever planet, in whichever galaxy. There were no guarantees that anything could last, but with John, she felt a connection that had grown steadily and powerfully stronger since that first early morning when he had walked into her tent on Old Athos. Now, here she was, sat with him, her lover, on his homeworld sharing a sunset. It felt right in every way.

She lowered her gaze to their interlinked hands, and grazing her thumb over his, and mentally pictured one day returning to see her people again, with John and Torren beside her.

"I suspect that Ronon would wish to return to Pegasus with us," she considered quietly after a while. "Along with the few of my people in the city. Perhaps also Carson."

John glanced at her with a smile, feeling deeply contented and happy. "Maybe," he agreed, "But they're not all sleeping in our tent."

Her laughter lifted up high into the night as she leant further against him, the starlight of his home galaxy glowing down over them both. He grinned at the beautiful sight, at this change in his life that he sensed really was going to be life-changed. For the first time ever, he didn't feel nervous about the prospect of such a commitment. Instead, he felt nothing but excited.

But, all that aside, right now, they had one last night together here on Kaua'i, and he intended to make sure that they enjoyed every single moment of it together.

Smiling brightly, he reached for her, sliding his hands around her as she turned towards him, and they shared another sweet promising kiss.

Definitely, the best vacation ever.

00000  
THE END


End file.
